
Thunderbirds Visit Two Division Rivals Friday and Saturday
January 18, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (18-14-5-3) complete a four-game road swing this weekend with visits to the Providence Bruins (18-16-6-0) on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. and the Hartford Wolf Pack (18-17-2-2) on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.
The Thunderbirds will look for their second straight win inside the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Friday night in their seventh of 14 regular season matchups with the Bruins. Springfield currently boasts a 4-2-0-0 record this season against their most common division opponent.
Dryden Hunt provided the overtime heroics last Sunday in a 3-2 Springfield victory in Providence, beating Dan Vladar at 4:59 of the extra period to secure an ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 play of the night and his first career AHL overtime goal. That extra-time victory was just the Thunderbirds' second win in 10 tries beyond regulation this season.
Sam Montembeault brought home the victory at the other end for Springfield on Sunday thanks to his 32 saves on 34 shots. Sebastian Repo tallied a power play goal in his fourth straight game in the win as well.
Springfield's power play was finally kept off the board on Wednesday in Allentown in a 3-1 loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, marking the first time in 11 games that the Thunderbirds power play failed to score a goal, snapping a team-record streak of 10 straight contests with a power play goal.
Entering play on Friday night, the Thunderbirds sit at 44 points, good for fourth place in the Atlantic Division. Springfield is just six points back of second place Bridgeport and one point behind the Phantoms for the third position in the standings. The Bruins, however, are looking to leapfrog the Penguins (43 points) and Thunderbirds, as the P-Bruins sit at 42 points through 40 games.
Following their trip to Providence, the Thunderbirds will make the short trek south to take on the Hartford Wolf Pack for the third time since Dec. 30 inside the XL Center. The Wolf Pack have come away with victories in each of the last two meetings by scores of 6-5 in overtime on Dec. 30 and 3-1 on Jan. 4. Springfield is 1-1-1-0 in its first three matchups with Hartford this season, with seven meetings still to go in the season series.
The Thunderbirds' busy stretch before the All-Star break continues on Monday for a special 1:05 p.m. matinee inside the MassMutual Center against the Laval Rocket. Springfield is 4-0-0-0 all time against the Rocket since Laval's inception in 2017.
Springfield Thunderbirds fans are encouraged to visit www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com to learn more about 2018-19 Thunderbirds Ticket Memberships. Packages include a wide range of benefits, including the lowest prices for the 2019 Lexus AHL All-Star Classic presented by MGM Springfield. For more information or to order now, call (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or visit www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.
American Hockey League Stories from January 18, 2019
- Crunch Snap Five-Game Skid with 5-3 Victory over Senators - Syracuse Crunch
- Redmond Ties Franchise Record, Has Career-High Four-Point Night in 5-4 Win over Penguins - Rochester Americans
- Wild and High-Scoring See-Saw Battle at Hartford - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Wolf Pack Tops Lehigh Valley in OT - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Penguins Lose to Americans, 5-4 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- P-Bruins Win 2-1 in First Shootout of Season - Providence Bruins
- Monsters Stymied in 1-0 Road Loss to Rocket - Cleveland Monsters
- Sens Comeback Falls Short in Syracuse - Belleville Senators
- Devils Streak Ends in 5-3 Loss at Utica - Binghamton Devils
- Depth Prevails in Comets Win over Devils - Utica Comets
- HEAT NEWS Heat Sign Rob Hamilton to Standard Player's Contract - Stockton Heat
- Minnesota Wild Recalls Defenseman Louie Belpedio - Iowa Wild
- Sunday's Game against Hershey Moved to Monday, January 21 at 1 p.m. - Bridgeport Islanders
- Sunday's Game at Bridgeport Moved to Monday at 1 p.m. - Hershey Bears
- Joel L'Esperance Added to 2019 AHL All-Star Classic Roster - Texas Stars
- Dallas Stars Recall Right Wing Denis Gurianov - Texas Stars
- Andrew Poturalski Added to 2019 AHL All-Star Classic - Charlotte Checkers
- Grosenick Selected for AHL All-Star Game - Milwaukee Admirals
- American Hockey League Announces Suspension - AHL
- Game #35 Preview: Tucson at Colorado - Tucson Roadrunners
- Logan Shaw Named to AHL All-Star Classic - Manitoba Moose
- Hogberg Benefits from Time in Ottawa - Belleville Senators
- Poturalski, Shaw, Grosenick, L'Esperance Added to 2019 AHL All-Star Classic Rosters - AHL
- Florida Panthers Loan F Juho Lammikko to Springfield Thunderbirds - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Reign Sign Craig Wyszomirski to PTO - Ontario Reign
- Rangers Recall Marek Mazanec from Hartford, Assign Alexandar Georgiev - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Heat Look to Take Back End of Two-Game Set at Bakersfield - Stockton Heat
- Bears Sign Jordan Samuels-Thomas to AHL Contract - Hershey Bears
- Syracuse Crunch and Binghamton Devils Announce Game Time Change for January 19 - Syracuse Crunch
- Game Change: Saturday's Game vs. Syracuse Changed to 5:05 p.m. Start - Binghamton Devils
- Promotions Set for Three Home Games Next Week - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Moose Recall Cederholm, Sign Mingo - Manitoba Moose
- Dollar Hot Dogs Tonight at the Condors - Bakersfield Condors
- Paterson Loaned Back to Brampton - Belleville Senators
- Sunday's P-Bruins Game Postponed Due to Weather; Rescheduled for Monday - Providence Bruins
- Wolf Pack Road Game Postponed - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Game Day Build-Up: Senators at Crunch, January 18 - Belleville Senators
- Comets Announce Game Time Change - Utica Comets
- Thunderbirds Visit Two Division Rivals Friday and Saturday - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Hitchcock Loaned to Worcester - Bridgeport Islanders
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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