T-Birds Unable to Keep Pace with Amerks

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The Springfield Thunderbirds (18-15-3-2) could not keep pace with the potent offense of the Rochester Americans (19-13-3-1), falling 7-3 on Saturday night at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester.

The home team came out with firepower from the onset, and after a bad defensive zone turnover, Linus Weissbach cashed in with a wrister past Vadim Zherenko to make it a 1-0 game just 3:24 into the action. The Amerks were not finished, either, as Graham Slaggert found himself available for a deflection outside of Zherenko's crease, and he did just that at 6:07, tipping it by the Springfield goalie to make it a 2-0 Rochester lead.

In need of a positive shift in morale, the T-Birds got just that when Calle Rosen crept up into a play at the offensive blue line, stepping into the high slot to receive a one-touch pass from MacKenzie MacEachern. With a lane available to shoot, Rosen did just that, snapping it past Devon Levi's blocker just 39 seconds after the Slaggert goal to cut the Rochester lead down to 2-1 at 6:46.

Springfield's special teams stepped into the spotlight meaningfully after that, killing off a pair of Amerks power plays thanks to a stabilized effort by Zherenko and his defense.

When the T-Birds received their first power play in the closing minutes of the period, they took full advantage to erase the two-goal hole before a full period was even completed. In his first game as a T-Bird, recent ECHL call-up Tanner Dickinson made his presence known, beating Levi with a snapper from the left circle to even the score, 2-2, at 17:17. Rosen picked up the primary assist in accounting for both Springfield goals in the opening frame.

After 20 minutes, Zherenko exited the game with an apparent injury, so former Amerk Malcolm Subban was thrust into duty. Even with the goalie swap, history repeated itself to begin the second period as Rochester got to the scoreboard first. Kale Clague slipped down the far side of the ice, undetected, and tapped home a perfect centering pass from Brandon Biro to make it a 3-2 game. Lukas Rousek also assisted, extending his point streak to an AHL-best 13 straight games.

3:30 later, another turnover reared its ugly head on the T-Birds, as Brett Murray intercepted a drop pass, weaved to the right side, and beat Subban with a wrist shot to make it 4-2. 

With Springfield jumping on a power play with a chance to cut the lead in half, Rochester handed Springfield a bitter gut-punch as Isak Rosen stormed in on a breakaway and chipped a forehander over Subban's glove to make it 5-2 at 11:42. It was just the second shorthanded goal allowed all year by the T-Birds. 

The T-Birds stopped the Amerks' run at the 14:47 mark when Jakub Vrana marched over the right-wing side on a 2-on-1 before flipping a perfect saucer pass to Mikhail Abramov, who one-timed it through Levi to make it a 5-3 game.

However, on this night, the T-Birds did not have the third-period magic, as Rochester held Springfield to just three attempts on goal in the final 20 minutes. Subban was forced to hold the 5-3 margin with a penalty shot save on Mason Jobst, but the Amerks persisted anyway, getting back-to-back goals from Viktor Neuchev and Weissbach separated by just 2:07 to finish the scoring.

The T-Birds look to bounce back as they continue the road trip on Sunday afternoon against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The two teams close their season series with a 3:05 p.m. puck drop.

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