T-Birds' Offense Comes to Life, Secures Cranley's First Win
AHL Springfield Thunderbirds

T-Birds' Offense Comes to Life, Secures Cranley's First Win

Published on February 13, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release


Springfield Thunderbirds' Michael Buchinger and Calle Rosén congratulated by team
Springfield Thunderbirds' Michael Buchinger and Calle Rosén congratulated by team
(Springfield Thunderbirds)

DES MOINES, IA - The Springfield Thunderbirds (17-24-4-2) finally tasted victory away from home, doubling up the Iowa Wild (13-27-4-1) by a 6-3 final score on Friday night inside Casey's Center in Des Moines.

In search of a strong start following the All-Star break, the T-Birds got just that at the 8:03 mark of the opening period, as Matt Luff won a puck battle against the end wall and sent the puck into the left circle for Juraj Pekarcik. The rookie forward, in turn, spotted Theo Lindstein crashing down the center lane, and Lindstein unloaded a one-timer over the glove of Cal Petersen to make it a 1-0 game.

At the other end, Will Cranley got the nod for his second start of the season, but the rookie netminder did not have to do much, turning away the four attempts Iowa had on net in the opening 20 minutes.

Two teams sitting in the bottom five in the AHL in goal scoring turned the script upside-down in period two with five combined tallies. Springfield began the offensive onslaught with a power play slam dunk by Dillon Dube at 6:24, off a cross-crease setup from Chris Wagner.

Just 38 seconds later, Jakub Stancl added to the Springfield lead, snapping a bar-down wrister off a setup from Pekarcik to make it a 3-0 score. Calle Rosen followed suit at 10:41 with a seeing-eye wrister that tickled the back bar, ballooning the advantage to 4-0.

Despite the huge deficit, Iowa did not go away quietly. Oskar Olausson got the Wild on the board for the first time at the 13:00 mark, firing a shot off the post before it ricocheted off Cranley's skate and into the net to make it a 4-1 game.

3:17 later, as a penalty was expiring, Nic Aube-Kubel regained control after whiffing on a one-timer, surprising Cranley with a quick trigger pull over the blocker to shave the Springfield lead to 4-2 heading into the third.

Cranley and the Springfield penalty kill twice held off a furious Iowa attack, keeping the 4-2 score intact as the game hit the final four minutes. Brad Marek would get the Wild back to within a single goal when he beat Cranley with 2:58 remaining to make it 4-3, but Iowa ultimately ran out of time.

Dube gave the T-Birds some room to exhale as he hit an empty net with 2:05 remaining, and Alek Kaskimaki followed with an empty-net goal of his own to bring the final score to 6-3. In picking up his first AHL win with 24 saves, Cranley also earned his first AHL assist on the Kaskimaki empty-netter.

The T-Birds and Wild complete their weekend set on Saturday with a 7:00 p.m. puck drop in the grudge match for the Wild's Pink in the Rink night.

Single-game tickets and ticket memberships for all remaining games in the Thunderbirds' 2025-26 season are available now - fans can order now by visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com or by calling (413) 739-GOAL (4625).

-- SPRINGFIELD THUNDERBIRDS -

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Springfield Thunderbirds' Michael Buchinger and Calle Rosén congratulated by team
Springfield Thunderbirds' Michael Buchinger and Calle Rosén congratulated by team
   



American Hockey League Stories from February 13, 2026


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