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AHL Springfield Thunderbirds

T-Birds' Six Unanswered Goals Help Steamroll Wolf Pack

December 29, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release


Springfield Thunderbirds huddle
Springfield Thunderbirds huddle
(Springfield Thunderbirds)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (12-13-1-4) rattled off six unanswered goals to go from two goals down to 7-4 victors over the Hartford Wolf Pack (11-13-1-4) on Wednesday night inside the MassMutual Center.

The goalies would have to be on their toes in the opening 10 minutes of this contest, as each team's defense allowed breakaways to their opponents in the early stages. Will Bitten got the first crack at getting the T-Birds on the board, but Dylan Garand stood tall in his paint, denying a backhand-to-forehand try from the pesky Springfield winger. Springfield also had two shots glance off the iron behind Garand in the opening 20 minutes.

A few minutes later, Joel Hofer took center stage with a confident shoulder save off Gustav Rydahl, who had slipped behind the last line of the Springfield blue line.

Extended zone time for the Wolf Pack brought about the lone goal of the first at the 12:51 mark when Ryan Carpenter circled all the way back to the blue line before sliding the puck in behind the goal line. Taking Carpenter's place deep in the zone, rookie defenseman Brandon Scanlin gathered in the puck in the trapezoid, slipping a backhand pass toward the front of the crease, where Austin Rueschoff reached it to jab it through Hofer to give Hartford the 1-0 lead on just his second goal of the season in 20 games.

The second period would go down as one of the most chaotic in recent T-Birds memory, but it did not begin on a positive note for Springfield, as Will Cuylle made it 2-0 for the Wolf Pack just 1:02 into the period on a centering pass from the left-wing wall that caromed in off a Springfield stick.

The Springfield response would be instant, though, as Cuylle himself coughed the puck up deep in his own end of the ice to Matthew Highmore, who turned and ripped a wrister under Garand's glove to make it 2-1 at 1:49.

Springfield thought it had the momentum on its side, but at the 3:16 marker, Turner Elson quickly set that notion aside, creeping up into the slot area, taking a blind centering attempt from Karl Henriksson, and beating Hofer on the stick side to increase Hartford's lead to 3-1.

Hartford's discipline did them no favors in ensuing action, as Lauri Pajuniemi was guilty of a four-minute high-stick, and Scanlin then dumped a puck out of play from the defensive zone for a delay-of-game minor, giving Springfield a 5-on-3. With the two-man advantage, Martin Frk found himself in the slot area after Garand desperately tried to dive on a loose puck off a Nikita Alexandrov rebound. When the Hartford goalie lost his net, Frk patiently sneaked a wrist shot through three bodies to make it a 3-2 game at 6:48.

Another Springfield power play did not yield a goal immediately, but just a second after the penalty time ended, at 16:02, Mitchell Hoelscher found his way to the side of the net, taking a pass from Bitten. While his first attempt was stopped, Hoelscher stayed diligent and poked the rebound home to tie the game, 3-3.

Only 2:12 later, the T-Birds added to their tally in their prolific second period as Dmitri Samorukov made an incredible keep-in at the left point, dashed into the slot area, and found Frk on the right side. Frk let fly with a wrist shot and beat Garand for his second of the night and a 4-3 Springfield lead.

Still not content, the T-Birds kept pushing the throttle into the final seconds of the middle frame. Hofer himself led the rush with a perfect two-line pass to Bitten at the offensive blue line. From there, Jake Neighbours accepted a feed from Hofer and, with time dwindling in the period, slipped it between Garand's legs with just 3.6 left on the clock, giving the T-Birds a 5-3 lead and their first five-goal period of the season.

Springfield did not let up as the game moved into the third. With a fifth power play, Bitten got himself into the goal column, one-timing a clean draw win by Hugh McGing through Garand to make it 6-3 at 5:54 of the third.

Neighbours parlayed his earlier goal into a two-goal performance as he snapped a shot over Garand's shoulder at 8:26 to make it 7-3.

Carpenter picked up his sixth goal in three games to cut the lead to 7-4 at 9:40, but that's as close as the Wolf Pack would get. Hofer finished with 21 stops for his ninth win of the season.

The T-Birds stay on home ice for their next matchup on Friday night against the visiting Bridgeport Islanders at 7:05 p.m. at the MassMutual Center.

Thunderbirds fans can reserve their seats for the 2022-23 season and lock in the best prices and member benefits by calling (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.

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