The Springfield Thunderbirds (32-17-5-2) once again emerged victorious in extra time with a 3-2 win over the Bridgeport Islanders (23-25-6-4) on Wednesday night at the MassMutual Center.
As they have done almost all season, the T-Birds had a shoot-first mentality in a first period that made Islanders goalie Cory Schneider stop 19 Springfield offerings while killing a pair of Thunderbird power plays. Despite numerous chances, the home team could not dent the 35-year-old netminder, and the first stanza ended in a scoreless tie.
Making his second consecutive start at the other end, Charlie Lindgren had a far quieter first period, but he was there to make all eight saves that needed to be made against Bridgeport.
The goalies maintained a high level in the second period, with Lindgren the busier man this time around. A pair of defensive zone mistakes proved to be the impetuses for the opening goal each way. First, Dakota Joshua pilfered a puck away in the slot area inside the Bridgeport end and sneaked a wrist shot off Scheider’s stick and arm and across the line to give Springfield the 1-0 lead at 2:26.
Kyle MacLean would answer back for the Islanders at 11:23 when he intercepted a Springfield clearing attempt in the left circle before chasing down his own rebound off of Lindgren’s left pad to tie the score, 1-1.
A slower start to the third period gave way to a frenetic final 10 minutes, beginning when James Neal earned himself a penalty shot when he was taken down at the 10:33 mark of the period. With the go-ahead goal on his stick, Neal patiently outwaited Schneider and beat him to the stick side over the blocker to give the T-Birds a 2-1 lead. It was Neal’s ninth goal in 11 games with Springfield.
The Thunderbirds and Lindgren held on into the game’s final two minutes, but back-to-back penalties set Bridgeport up with an eventual 6-on-4, and Chris Terry found a way to beat Lindgren high to the glove side with exactly a minute to play to force overtime.
The stalemate went into the final minute of the extra period. With time dwindling, Calle Rosen carried the puck in on the right-wing side with Matthew Peca crashing the net. Rosen threw the puck toward the crease, where it ricocheted into the blue paint. Peca stopped on a dime and patiently settled the puck down before sliding it home to seal the victory on his career-high 19th of the season at 4:34 of the 3-on-3 session.
Winners of three of their last four games, the Thunderbirds continue their home-ice week with back-to-back matchups against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday and Saturday. Each game will feature a 7:05 p.m. puck drop.
You must be logged in to post a comment.