T-Birds Vets Pave Way Past Penguins, 5-4
Published on March 4, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release
Springfield Thunderbirds pressure the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
(Springfield Thunderbirds)
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (22-25-5-2) received huge contributions from their most experienced players en route to a 5-4 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (36-14-4-2) on Wednesday night inside Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Starting netminder Georgi Romanov was forced to be strong very early on this night, as the big goalie made back-to-back saves on shorthanded bids by Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Joona Koppanen in short order to keep the game scoreless through the opening 15 minutes.
The Penguins killed off the first two Springfield power plays and had outshot the visitors 7-1 in the opening stages, but the T-Birds pushed the issue with six of the final seven shots of the frame, culminating in the game's icebreaking goal just moments after the second man advantage expired.
Captain Matthew Peca raced to scoop up a loose puck in the trapezoid off a dump-in by Alek Kaskimaki, where he stealthily spun a backhand pass through the crease, allowing Juraj Pekarcik to one-time it past Joel Blomqvist and give Springfield a 1-0 lead at 17:00 of the period.
The defensive struggle continued into the midpoint of the game, with neither team generating much offensively to begin the middle period, save for one key stop by Blomqvist on a Hugh McGing breakaway attempt early in the frame.
Springfield eventually found some important insurance at 13:18 when a Marc-Andre Gaudet shot deflected right to the waiting stick of Dillon Dube, who punched it through Blomqvist before the goaltender could react.
The 2-0 lead would only last 45 seconds, though, as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton answered with a power play marker by Aidan McDonough after a clearing attempt went off a loose stick and bounced right to the veteran winger's blade.
Just as quickly, however, the T-Birds had their own rebuttal on a man advantage, as Dube stepped out front from the goal line and into the right wing circle before elevating a shot into the top shelf behind Blomqvist, making it 3-1 at 16:15.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would prove to be a difficult team to put away, as Tanner Howe quickly got the Penguins back to within a goal at the 1:17 mark of the third period during 4-on-4 action. McDonough, who assisted on Howe's goal, then added a second power-play goal at 10:11, bringing the home side back even, 3-3.
The deadlock carried into the closing five minutes, but ultimately teetered in Springfield's favor when Matt Dumba was whistled for his fourth penalty of the night when he high-sticked Mathieu Joseph 13:21 into the final period.
Joseph himself made the Penguins pay with just four seconds left on the advantage when he took a feed in the low slot from Otto Stenberg and stuffed a backhander through Blomqvist at 15:17, restoring the T-Birds lead, 4-3. Peca picked up his third assist of the evening on the secondary helper.
Chris Wagner gave the T-Birds some insurance with 43 seconds remaining with an empty-net tally, and that proved more important than expected when a giveaway by Romanov resulted in a Rafael Harvey-Pinard tally just 11 seconds later. Fortunately for Romanov and the T-Birds defense, the Penguins got no closer, and Springfield improved to 6-1-1-0 in its last eight games.
The T-Birds return home on Friday night to begin a two-game weekend set at the MassMutual Center against the Iowa Wild. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. on Friday.
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).
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 Springfield Thunderbirds pressure the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins |
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