T-Birds' Third Period Slips Costs Them in Bridgeport

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- The Springfield Thunderbirds (20-18-3-2) saw a 1-0 third period lead slip through their fingers in a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Bridgeport Islanders (12-24-5-0) on Wednesday night at Total Mortgage Arena.

For their third consecutive game, the T-Birds jumped to a 1-0 lead in the opening half of the first period. This time around, it was the Springfield captain who got the payoff, as Dylan Coghlan fired a perfect pass from the right point to the left edge of the crease. Matthew Peca was there to guide a one-touch shot through Jakub Skarek, netting his 10th goal of the season and handing Springfield the 1-0 edge at 4:09.

The rest of the frame saw both teams unafraid to fire anything at the nets of Skarek and Malcolm Subban. Springfield's goaltender was locked in from the get-go, making 17 saves in the first 20 minutes, including a key breakaway denial on Carsen Twarynski with less than 10 seconds remaining in the stanza.

Offensively, the second period did not produce much for Springfield, save for a shorthanded breakaway chance for Will Bitten, which got snatched out of the air by Skarek's trapper. Bridgeport outshot the T-Birds 12-3 in the second frame, which included two power play opportunities without success. Subban continued to be the star for the visitors, as the Islanders had no answers for the veteran backstop in the second period either.

Bridgeport continued to press on in the third, on their way to a whopping 43-22 shot advantage for the night. At 2:35 of the period, Jeff Kubiak finally squeezed one through Subban on a cross-crease pass from Cole Bardreau, tying the score, 1-1.

Things only got worse for the T-Birds when the Islanders went to the second of back-to-back power plays at 8:18. Twarynski, stonewalled on a breakaway in the first, made amends, guiding a deflected pass under Subban's legs and breaking the tie, 2-1. The goal came at the 9:17 mark of the third.

Still trying to recover from the stunning and abrupt turn of events, the T-Birds saw another puck enter their goal after a misplay in the neutral zone led to a Bardreau breakaway and finish through Subban's pads, extending the lead to 3-1 just 18 seconds after the Twarynski tally.

The T-Birds' power play continued to have a difficult time getting shots through to Skarek, who needed to make just 21 saves to end a personal 13-game winless drought in the Bridgeport goal crease. In the losing effort, Subban did all he could, denying 40 Isles attempts for his second 40-save performance this month.

Springfield has 48 hours to prepare for a rematch between the clubs on Friday night at Total Mortgage Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. once again. 

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