2nd Period Surge Vanquishes Wolf Pack

HARTFORD, Conn. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (11-12-1-4) rode a three-goal second-period surge to a 4-2 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack (9-12-1-4) on Thursday night inside the XL Center.

The game's first goal would come in the first special teams' situation of the evening. After being granted the game's first power play, the Springfield man-advantage unit committed a turnover at the offensive blue line, leading to a break chance for Ty Emberson shorthanded. As he got near the bottom of the left circle, the young Wolf Pack blueliner found a hole beneath Joel Hofer along the ice, giving Hartford the 1-0 lead at 11:42. 

Springfield had two power plays in the opening period and 10 shots on veteran backstop Louis Domingue, but the Hartford goaltender had the answer on each offering. Hofer, meanwhile, finished the opening 20 minutes with 12 saves on 13 shots.

The turning point came courtesy of the T-Birds' fourth line just 2:53 into the second, as Mitchell Hoelscher picked up a puck off a Wolf Pack defender in the slot area, spun to his forehand, and squeezed a shot through Domingue, tying the game, 1-1. 

Hoelscher's first AHL goal seemed to break the offensive levy for Springfield, and after another power play came up with nothing, 5-on-5 proved sufficient at 11:33, as Will Bitten moved up in a 2-on-1 with Nikita Alexandrov. From the left side, Bitten's shot attempt was blocked, but Jake Neighbours hustled up ice to win the race to the second chance, beating Domingue with a wrist shot under the far-side post and crossbar, giving Springfield its first lead, 2-1. It was Neighbours' fourth goal in the span of his last five games. 

The Wolf Pack kept parading to the penalty box, and it finally bit them on Springfield's fourth man advantage at 18:30 as Martin Frk uncorked his trademark slap shot from the left point over Domingue, making it a 3-1 lead for Springfield at the second intermission. 

Hartford made things a little dicey for Springfield when Gustav Rydahl crashed the net, beating Hofer on a slick pass from Emberson at just the 3:50 mark of the final period, cutting the lead down to 3-2.

Hofer locked down the front of his net to keep the score 3-2 as Hartford pushed hard for an equalizer in the moments that followed. At 6:30, Hugh McGing used a defender as a screen and restored the two-goal advantage with his second goal in as many games on a wrist shot through Domingue from the left-wing side. Bitten picked up his third helper of the night on the tally, and Tyler Tucker also picked up his second assist of the night.

Despite being outshot 14-3 in the final period, Springfield locked down the win as Hofer finished his night with 31 stops. It marked the first time this season that the T-Birds won after allowing the game's opening goal. The T-Birds look to link wins back-to-back on Friday as they welcome the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to the Thunderdome. 

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.