UPDATE: The Hartford Wolf Pack surged past the Springfield Thunderbirds with a decisive 6-3 victory on Saturday at the MassMutual Center, marking a critical showdown in the Braman Pest Control I-91 Rivalry Series. This latest defeat leaves the Thunderbirds struggling at 1-5-0-0, while the Wolf Pack improves to 2-4-0-0.
From the opening face-off, the Wolf Pack dominated, peppering Thunderbirds goalie Georgi Romanov with shots. Romanov initially held strong, stopping the first 13 shots he faced, but momentum shifted quickly. At 13:36, Thunderbirds defenseman Corey Schueneman fired a wrist shot past Wolf Pack goalie Dylan Garand, giving Springfield an early lead at 1-0.
However, the tide turned sharply. Just 2:15 later, Wolf Pack forward Brett Berard scored on a power play, tying the game at 1-1. The Wolf Pack capitalized on their momentum, with Blake Hillman scoring shortly thereafter to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission after outshooting the Thunderbirds 17-4.
The second period was no kinder to the Thunderbirds. Just 44 seconds in, Brendan Brisson found the net, extending Hartford’s lead to 3-1. Moments later, Carey Terrance and Gabe Perreault added two more quick goals for the Wolf Pack, pushing the score to an alarming 5-1 before Springfield could regroup, prompting a goaltending change and a timeout.
In a moment of hope for the Thunderbirds, rookie Leo Loof scored his first career AHL goal at 3:39, narrowing the deficit to 5-2. Assists from Dalibor Dvorsky and Juraj Pekarcik highlighted this brief resurgence.
Despite their efforts, the Thunderbirds could not close the gap. McConnell-Barker scored for Hartford, making it 6-2 before Dvorsky netted a power play goal at 14:55 of the third period to finalize the scoring at 6-3.
The Wolf Pack’s Garand secured his second win over the Thunderbirds in just four days, despite only needing to stop 12 shots throughout the game. As the Thunderbirds lick their wounds from this rivalry defeat, they will look to bounce back during their upcoming three-game homestand, starting with a matchup against the Hershey Bears on October 31, 2023, at 7:05 p.m. inside the Thunderdome.
This latest loss raises questions about the Thunderbirds’ ability to compete in their division, and fans will be eager to see how the team responds in their next game. Stay tuned for more developments from this evolving story.
