T-Birds Withstand Bruins Comeback, Get Payback in Shootout

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (4-3-0-1) overcame a bevy of late-game obstacles to emerge victorious in the shootout, 3-2, over the Providence Bruins (5-1-1-1) on Sunday afternoon inside Amica Mutual Pavilion.

After facing a barrage from the Bridgeport Islanders in a 7-6 win on Friday, T-Birds netminder Joel Hofer was locked in to start Sunday’s action, stopping five shots in the game’s opening five minutes en route to an 11-save first period when his team registered just four shots on Kyle Keyser at the other end.

Springfield’s penalty kill would also be heavily tested in the opening 20 minutes, facing as many opposing power plays (3) as they saw all evening on Saturday. The T-Birds successfully dispatched the first two Bruins advantages and survived the opening half of a third as the period came to an end.

Springfield’s man-down unit continued to be a positive in the second period, as the Bruins left three more chances on the table, and better still, the T-Birds finally cracked the scoreless deadlock with a third shorthanded goal in the club’s first eight games.

Will Bitten found himself in the middle of the shorthanded offense again, knocking down an entry pass at the defensive blue line and jetting into the Bruins end all alone with only Keyser to beat. The pesky Bitten made the perfect shot off the inside of the post on Keyser’s stick side, making it 1-0 at 12:24 of the second.

Otherwise, the second period continued to be all about Hofer, who was sturdy as a house in his crease, stopping 16 more Bruins shots, many of which came on the Bruins’ man-advantage. Springfield’s PK was a perfect 5-for-5 through two periods.

Tyler Tucker added to the Springfield lead, jumping up into a play in the left circle, receiving a cross-ice feed from Mathias Laferriere and snapping it through Keyser at the 3:00 mark of the third, upping the lead to 2-0.

Things seemed to be heading toward a T-Birds victory, but a trio of penalties in the final five minutes gave the Bruins two separate 5-on-3 advantages, with Vinni Lettieri connecting on goals just 45 seconds apart to tie the game with 2:03 to play in the final period. 

The Springfield penalty kill had to reach deep to pull out one more gutsy kill in overtime, surviving a full two-minute 4-on-3 Providence advantage to force the game into a shootout.

Springfield had another hurdle to overcome in the shootout when Lettieri scored in the second round to give the Bruins the edge heading into Springfield's final shooter, Matthew Highmore. The veteran winger calmly stepped up, though, and lifted a perfect backhander into the top shelf to force extra shooters. After Fabian Lysell could not beat Hofer in round four, Laferriere came in on his off-wing and snapped a wrister over Keyser's shoulder to get the T-Birds the 3-2 victory. Springfield is now 4-0-0-1 since starting the season 0-3-0-0. 

The Thunderbirds return to home ice on Friday, Nov. 4 as they tangle with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the first installment of the I-91 rivalry at the MassMutual Center, with puck drop slated for 7:05 p.m.

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.