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AHL Springfield Thunderbirds

T-Birds Stage Another Comeback to Earn Point Over Isles

December 29, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release


Springfield Thunderbirds battle the Bridgeport Islanders
Springfield Thunderbirds battle the Bridgeport Islanders
(Springfield Thunderbirds)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- For a third time in four games, the Springfield Thunderbirds (16-9-3-1) overcame a three-goal deficit to earn points in the standings, but could not complete another valiant comeback try in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Bridgeport Islanders (9-17-2-0) on Friday night at the MassMutual Center.

For the first time in seven games, the T-Birds finally got to the scoreboard first just moments after a missed power play bid. Hugh McGing picked up a loose puck in his own zone and chipped it through neutral ice, where speedy Will Bitten crashed in on a breakaway against AHL debutant Henrik Tikkanen in the Bridgeport net. The veteran made no mistake, slipping a snap shot through the legs of the rookie backstop to give Springfield the 1-0 lead at 3:38.

Just 1:14 later, the Islanders responded on their first shot of the evening, with Grant Hutton one-timing a pass from the left circle up over Malcolm Subban's right shoulder, making it a 1-1 tie, a score that stood all the way to intermission.

The Islanders entered the game with the lowest goals-per-game average in the AHL, but that statistic proved irrelevant in a furious offensive push in the middle period. William Dufour got it going with a wrist shot over Subban's blocker arm at 3:00 to give Bridgeport a 2-1 lead on the power play.

The T-Birds put themselves in a pickle at the 9:04 mark when they committed two separate penalties on the same sequence, giving Bridgeport a full two-minute 5-on-3 advantage. Dennis Cholowski took advantage of that, scoring a pretty goal off the rush at 6:03 to make it a 3-1 game. After the penalty time ended, Cole Bardreau added to the lead with a deflection at 7:52 of a Hutton shot to extend to a 4-1 lead.

After a Springfield timeout, the T-Birds had thoughts of starting yet another three-goal comeback when Nathan Walker fired a slapper off his wrong foot that tickled the top shelf at 8:12, just 20 seconds after the Bardreau tally, and the lead was trimmed to 4-2.

However, Dufour returned to form at 16:04, beating Subban over the glove side on a 2-on-1 to restore the three-goal lead for Bridgeport into the intermission.

The T-Birds' third-period magic came to fruition for the second time in as many meetings against Bridgeport, beginning when Ryan Suzuki snapped a shot through Tikkanen on the blocker side at 2:06 to make it a 5-3 contest.

Bridgeport got into penalty trouble in the third, and the recently-slumping Springfield power play finally got back on track at 5-on-4 when Bitten deflected a Dylan Coghlan wrist shot through Tikkanen at 6:04, cutting the deficit to 5-4.

Three minutes and change later, another Islander minor penalty set the power play up for the equalizer, with Walker banking the puck off Tikkanen from the right side of the goal line, sending the MassMutual Center into pandemonium over the 5-5 tying marker, which was Walker's 13th goal of the season.

The goaltenders secured their nets from that point forward, and the Islanders survived one more late Springfield man-advantage to get the game into overtime all even.

After Tikkanen made a trio of saves at his end of the ice, Ruslan Iskhakov slipped behind the Springfield defense and made a creative between-the-legs shot that glanced off the crossbar before ricocheting off Subban's stick and across the line. The goal at 1:38 of the extra period was Iskhakov's second overtime winner against the T-Birds this season, and it spared the Islanders another disastrous result.

Despite falling, the T-Birds have still managed to earn points in the standings in 10 of their last 11 games played. They look to continue that pattern on Saturday night as they welcome the Providence Bruins for a 7:05 p.m. contest inside the Thunderdome. It will be the first meeting between the T-Birds and Bruins since Nov. 10.

Fans can reserve seats for Thunderbirds' hockey action throughout the 2023-24 season by calling (413)-739-GOAL (4625) or visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.

-- SPRINGFIELD THUNDERBIRDS -

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Springfield Thunderbirds battle the Bridgeport Islanders
Springfield Thunderbirds battle the Bridgeport Islanders
   



American Hockey League Stories from December 29, 2023


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