T-Birds Host Hartford to Close 2016-17 Season

Springfield, MA- The Springfield Thunderbirds (31-33-9-2) will close out their inaugural season on Saturday in a 7:05 p.m. ET tilt against the Hartford Wolf Pack (24-45-4-2) at the MassMutual Center. 

The game will cap off the MGM Springfield Fan Appreciation Weekend festivities, which include giveaways from a wide range of partners, including Balise Kia and Burger King.

On the ice, the Thunderbirds have turned the MassMutual Center into a house of horrors for their opponents, winning 11 of their last 13 games at their home arena. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers felt the brunt of the nightmare on Friday, as Springfield rattled off 7 goals in 30:08 of game action to run away with a 7-0 blowout win.

The explosion began early as the Thunderbirds lit the lamp on the game's first power play just 4:24 into the night as Jared McCann finished off a feed from MacKenzie Weegar to beat Eamon McAdam.

Goaltender Adam Wilcox was tested early and came up huge to make 13 first period saves. His offense gave him some added insurance at 18:03 of the first as Jayce Hawryluk dropped the puck to Chase Balisy for a goal to push the lead to 2-0 on Balisy's 17th of the season.

With a 2-0 lead to start the second, the Thunderbirds did the exact opposite of sit on the lead, instead unleashing fury on the Bridgeport goal. McCann's second power play goal of the night came just 1:29 into the second to up the lead to 3-0.

McCann then completed the first home-ice hat trick in Thunderbirds history and second overall when he uncorked a bomb at 5:35 past McAdam, ending the Bridgeport goaltender's night. It was McCann's 10th goal of the campaign.

Stephon Williams relieved McAdam, but the Sound Tigers goaltender felt a similar fate. Just 27 seconds into his night, Anthony Greco fired a left-point flip shot that bound its way home to make it a 5-0 game.

The barrage did not stop, as moments later Dryden Hunt stepped out of the box after serving a penalty, accelerated in on Williams and rifled a wrist shot home to make it a 6-0 score at 8:57.

Needing an extra point to add to the touchdown, Matt Buckles picked up a rebound to the right of Williams and snapped it into the top shelf to put Springfield ahead 7-0, with every goal in the explosion coming just past the halfway point of regulation.

The Sound Tigers and Thunderbirds played the third period to a scoreless draw to wind down the scoring. Wilcox's 28 saves marked his third home-ice shutout out of his six total wins with the Thunderbirds. 

Interested in becoming a part of the next era of professional hockey in Springfield? Earn your wings with Springfield Thunderbirds 2017-18 Ticket Memberships, which start as low as $12 per game and feature the most exclusive benefits, including a commemorative jersey and brand new Collectors Mug. For more information, fans may call the Thunderbirds ticket office at (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or visit www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.