T-Birds Upended by Wolf Pack

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Springfield Thunderbirds (7-6-1-0) the Hartford Wolf Pack (7-3-2-0) on Wednesday morning inside the XL Center.

The Wolf Pack took a page out of Springfield's school day playbook and came out with an offensive flourish in the opening 20 minutes. Just 5:05 into the festivities, and just under 15 seconds after beginning their first power play, the Pack man-advantage took a 1-0 lead on a tap-in goal on the near post by Hartford captain Jonny Brodzinski.

Just under six minutes later, Brodzinski became the passer, as he filtered a perfect pass to the slot area from the trapezoid, and Alex Belzile cashed in to make it 2-0 at 10:59. 

Hartford's offensive blitz did not end there, and Adam Sykora got his first goal of the season, cruising down the slot to beat Vadim Zherenko over the shoulder at 18:53 to give the Wolf Pack a 3-0 lead at intermission.

The T-Birds could not find any puck luck in the second period, as a Hugh McGing chance on a 2-on-1 caught the crossbar early in the period. Later on, Nikolas Brouillard found his way to the crease area to jam a rebound through Zherenko on the backhand at 12:58 of the period, extending the lead to 4-0.

At the other end, Louis Domingue had been perfect until an innocent-looking wrist shot from the right circle off the stick of Mathias Laferriere slipped through the veteran's legs at 15:20 of the period, finally getting Springfield on the board and narrowing the lead to 4-1 heading into the third. It was Laferriere's first goal of the season, with Zach Dean and MacKenzie MacEachern picking up the helpers.

Unfortunately for the T-Birds, the goal would only be a footnote, as Hartford extended back to a four-goal lead on a deflection tally from Adam Edstrom at 5:44 of the third to round out the scoring. Zherenko battled throughout and finished with 32 saves. Domingue needed to make just 23 saves for Hartford.
 
The T-Birds come back home on Friday, Nov. 17 for another Deuces Wild Friday at the Thunderdome, where the T-Birds will take on the Utica Comets for their first of four matchups on the season, with puck drop at 7:05 p.m., marking the first of five straight home games for Springfield.

Fans can reserve their seats to be a part of the Thunderbirds’ hockey action for the 2023-24 season by calling (413)-739-GOAL (4625) or visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.