Offensive Efforts Stymied by Bears

HERSHEY, Pa. -- The Springfield Thunderbirds (18-17-3-2) emptied the tank in the offensive zone to the tune of 34 shots, but were stymied in a 4-1 loss to the Hershey Bears (32-7-0-2) on Wednesday night at the Giant Center.

The first period closely resembled the first meeting in Chocolatetown between the division foes, with goaltenders Hunter Shepard and Malcolm Subban again rising to the occasion. Subban had to be sturdy in the opening minutes, turning away point-blank chances on the doorstep from both Henrik Rybinski and Ryan Hofer to keep the home team from taking the early lead. The Springfield penalty killers also shined in dispatching the game's first power play in the closing moments of the frame.

The T-Birds then got a power play of their own, but Hershey and its top-ranked PK held their own to keep the game scoreless at the end of 20 minutes. T-Birds captain Matthew Peca nearly had the opening marker when a puck came ricocheting off the end boards to the front of the net on the left side, but the disc bounced over Peca's blade, allowing the Bears to sidestep the dangerous opportunity.

At 9:37 of period two, the scoreless deadlock finally came to an end with the Bears taking advantage of a busted play deep in the Springfield zone. With both teams scurrying to complete changes, Mike Vecchione arrived off the bench into the slot, weaved to the right circle, and wristed a shot off the inside of the post behind Subban's blocker, giving Hershey the 1-0 lead.

Springfield's power play had no shortage of chances, as the normally disciplined Bears handed their opponent three man-up opportunities in the period. However, the T-Birds power play could not find the formula to beat Shepard, and moments after a 5-on-4 ended, Jimmy Huntington joined a rush to create a 3-on-2 rush, snapping a shot over Subban at 17:03 to give the Bears a 2-0 lead into the second intermission.

The frustrating evening for the Springfield power play continued into the third, as two more man-advantage chances came and went, dropping the T-Birds to 0-for-11 against Hershey during the season series. In spite of those chances coming up empty, the T-Birds kept pushing the issue and were finally rewarded when Mathias Laferriere pushed a loose puck across the line at 12:36 of the third to make it a 2-1 game.

The Bears proved too tough in the end, though, as empty-net tallies in the final two minutes by Ethen Frank and Pierrick Dube put salt in the wound of the defeat for Springfield.

The T-Birds return to home ice on Friday night to begin a two-game set against the division rival Charlotte Checkers at the MassMutual Center. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, with Hometown Heroes Night on Saturday already reaching sellout status.

Fans can reserve seats for Thunderbirds hockey action throughout the 2023-24 season by calling (413)-739-GOAL (4625) or visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.