Peca's First Pushes T-Birds to 6th Straight Win

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (21-17-1-4) scratched out two more power play goals and clawed past the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (20-17-2-3) on Wednesday night inside the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza by a final score of 3-2.

A simple shot into traffic from the blue line got the Penguins off and running just 2:18 into the game as Mitch Reinke's wrister got a deft tip by Corey Andonovski in front of the goal mouth of Joel Hofer to give Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the 1-0 lead.

The Thunderbirds only registered five shots that got onto the goal of Penguins veteran Dustin Tokarski, but Springfield left a couple of great chances on the table. Keean Washkurak missed the target on a point-blank chance off a rush, and Hugh McGing clanged the iron from the right circle off a slick pass from Will Bitten.

Besides the redirection, Hofer was his usual, stable self, turning away eight attempts, including a flashy glove save on a shorthanded 2-on-1 chance for the Penguins' Tyler Sikura. Springfield's penalty kill went 2-for-2 in the opening frame, while the Penguins kept the T-Birds' hot power play off the board with one late-period chance.

Hofer continued to buy his offense time to find their game, stopping 13 more Penguins attempts in a more offensively potent second period, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton never could add to its lead.

On their third power play of the night, the T-Birds finally dented Tokarski, and like the Penguins, they did so on a simple play. Brady Lyle accepted the puck from Matthew Peca at center point position and just feathered a wrist shot through a Matthew Highmore screen to beat Tokarski glove side at 12:47. The 1-1 deadlock carried into the final period.

The game reached its most pivotal moment when Matt Kessel received a five-minute major and game misconduct for interference just a minute into the third. With a long penalty kill ahead, the T-Birds survived the opening 1:29 and then got back to 4-on-4 when Filip Hallander took a minor penalty for the Penguins. At 3:47, skating 4-on-4, Springfield took its first lead as Lyle danced around a defender to the front of the net before sneaking a shot through Tokarski's five-hole to make it 2-1 for the T-Birds.

That lead only lasted 44 seconds, as moments after the Hallander penalty expired, Alex Nylander swiped a loose puck in the high slot and elevated a forehander over Hofer at 4:31 to tie the game again, 2-2.

The tie score didn't change until the dying minutes. Another Hallander penalty gave the Springfield power play its fourth chance of the evening. With the game on the line, Springfield came up huge as Highmore slipped a pass to Peca at the top of the crease, and the veteran centerman tucked home his first of the season up over Tokarski's stick side to give the T-Birds the lead for good with just 4:01 to play. 

Hofer and the defense held the fort the rest of the way, and Springfield picked up its sixth straight victory, a feat only achieved twice before in the T-Birds' history. It was also the fourth consecutive road win for the T-Birds, which tied their team record as well.

The T-Birds and Penguins complete a home-and-home set inside the MassMutual Center on Friday night; puck drop at the Thunderdome is set for 7:05 p.m. for the final matchup between the clubs in the regular season.

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.