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AHL Springfield Thunderbirds

T-Birds Roar Back to Keep Point Streak Alive

October 30, 2021 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (4-0-2-0) came storming back from a 3-1 deficit to force overtime, but could not get past the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (5-1-0-1), who prevailed by a final score of 4-3 on Saturday night inside the MassMutual Center.

The T-Birds, who were without reigning AHL Player of the Week Scott Perunovich, did not miss a beat in the opening period, as Hugh McGing and Matthew Peca worked a shorthanded give-and-go to perfection, with Peca beating former UMASS Minuteman goalie Filip Lindberg over the glove at 5:56 to make it a 1-0 game on the T-Birds' second shorthanded goal in two games. It was also Peca's third goal over his last three periods of action.

The early lead would not last long, though, as the Penguins battled right back to tie the score on a broken play inside the Springfield zone. As four T-Birds went for a line change, the Penguins outnumbered the T-Birds along the left-wing wall, allowing Felix Robert to step into the left circle and elevate a snap shot over the glove of Joel Hofer to tie the score, 1-1, at 8:23.

It was an otherwise flawless period for Hofer and Lindberg - each of whom had entered the game with goals-against averages below 1.50. Hofer's first period resume showed 11 stops, while Lindberg turned away eight Springfield offerings.

The second period shot board would eventually read 15-5 in favor of Springfield, but the Penguins were the more opportunistic team, taking a 2-1 lead on Robert's second of the night just 1:20 into the period. A Penguin power play came up empty shortly thereafter, but that did not deter the visitors as Valtteri Puustinen added his fourth goal of the season at 6:17, a high-rising wrister over Hofer's shoulder from the left-wing circle, giving the Penguins the 3-1 lead.

Springfield was not without its chances, including a 40-second 5-on-3 advantage and a four-minute power play that carried into the third period, but Lindberg and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defense stiffened, taking the two-goal lead into the intermission.

The Thunderbirds' youngest player got them back within two early in the third as Keean Washkurak worked his way in front of the net, taking a feed from Mathias Laferriere and elevating it past the blocker of Lindberg to make it a 3-2 game at 3:26 of the third. In addition to Washkurak and Laferriere getting their first AHL points, Josh Wesley picked up his first point as a T-Bird with a secondary helper.

The 3-2 score remained into the game's final minute, and after multiple T-Birds players dove in front of an empty net to keep the game in reach, Calle Rosen whipped a wild wrister from the right point that ricocheted twice before finding its way into the net to tie the game with 40 seconds left on the clock. Rosen's unlikely goal was his first as a T-Bird and his 100th career AHL point.

Springfield gets a chance to extend its season-opening point streak to seven games when they face their former head coach Geordie Kinnear and the Charlotte Checkers for a 2:05 p.m. game on Halloween Sunday.

For more information on the Springfield Thunderbirds and to order tickets, please visit www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com. To learn more about becoming a Thunderbirds ticket member, call (413) 739-GOAL (4625) to speak to a Thunderbirds representative.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 30, 2021


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