Thunderbirds miss playoff chance with 3-1 loss to Wolf Pack

SPRINGFIELD – The stars didn’t align for the Thunderbirds on Saturday.

Coming into Saturday, Springfield had won a season-best five consecutive games after their most recent defeat of the Rochester Americans on Friday. And that outcome lowered the Thunderbirds’ magic number to clinch their second consecutive postseason berth to four points.

So if the Springfield defeated Hartford and Lehigh Valley lost in regulation on Saturday, the Thunderbirds will reach the postseason for the fourth time in their team’s 10-year history.

But that plan didn’t come to fruition, as Springfield fell 3-1 against the Wolf Pack on Saturday inside the MassMutual Center.

In Springfield’s outcome, though, rookie netminder Callum Tung recorded a game-high 36 saves to not only help Hartford (25-35-5-3) play spoiler but also bid farewell to its previous seven-game winless streak.

“I don’t think we started on time and matched their intensity,” said Thunderbirds coach Steve Ott of their first period against Hartford. “I thought they were a hard-checking team and put on the pressure. And you know, the rest of the way, we had to chase the game.”

Despite 17 saves from netminder Vadim Zherenko, the Thunderbirds moved to 30-30-6-2, as they currently maintain the sixth and final postseason spot with 68 points in the Atlantic Division.

But since seventh-place Lehigh Valley (29-33-3-3) defeated Bridgeport on Saturday, Springfield’s magic number should remain at four with four regular-season games left.

Through seven minutes of action, both teams remained scoreless. That changed quickly, as Hartford scored the game’s first goal before earning a power-play opportunity.

That proved essential, as Trey Fix-Wolansky located a forward pass through the lead defenseman’s legs and onto Brendan Brisson’s stick outside the crease before he attempted to deke Zherenko to his left.

Brisson then countered with an impressive behind-the-back, between-the-legs backhanded wrister for his 17th goal of the season. The fun wasn’t complete, though.

Scott Morrow recovered a loose puck along the right board and then attempted a slap shot that ricocheted off Zherenko’s right pad and the goal post before it trickled home to momentarily triple the Wolf Pack’s lead to 3-0 with 9:52 left in the first period.

That marked Hartford’s third goal in under two minutes. But with its potential postseason berth on the line, Springfield forced a turnover and took off. As Zach Dean strode along the right board into the opposing zone, the forward located Hugh McGing with a cross-pass between the red faceoff circles.

And the rest was history, as McGing scored a breakaway wrister for his ninth goal of the season to ease the Thunderbirds’ deficit to 3-1 with 6:32 left in the first period. Dean, meanwhile, earned his eighth assist on the play.

Though Springfield entered the opening intermission down by two goals, the Thunderbirds still brought the sold-out hometown crowd of 6,793 fans to their feet as teammates Dylan Peterson and Chris Wagner both dropped the gloves against Hartford in their offensive zone during the final minute.

Wagner’s altercation, though, was the most impactful because it was in retaliation for Dylan Roobroeck’s kneeing penalty against assistant captain Calle Rosén. Once the altercation was concluded, Rosén was assisted off the ice, as the defenseman was unable to skate under his own power.

“It’s a team-first approach,” said Ott of the team’s brotherhood. “You’ve seen that with (Quinton) Burns, you’ve seen it with (Chris) Wagner, you’ve seen it with (Dylan) Peterson, and you’ve seen it with (Kale) Kessy.

“All of those guys stick up for each other, and that’s something character-wise. We don’t like the result, but we love how we are as a team.”

Sixteen combined penalties, which included six fighting majors, were called on Saturday. That also resulted in seven combined power-play attempts. Hartford went 1-for-1, while Springfield finished 0-for-6.

Springfield, though, couldn’t take advantage of the momentum shift as it finished unsuccessful on its second power-play attempt to open the second period. But despite that failed attempt, the Thunderbirds countered with five consecutive shots through the 29th minute.

It wasn’t enough, though, as Tung stood tall between the pipes to keep the Wolf Pack ahead near the halfway mark of the second period. But during the 34th minute, Caige Sterzer attempted to extend the road team’s cushion back to three.

Zherenko then recorded one of his five-second-period saves to not only keep it 3-1 but also deny the forward an opportunity to score his first career professional goal. That previously mentioned score remained through 40 minutes of action, though Springfield owned a 25-12 shots-on-goal advantage against Hartford.

Zherenko remained essential in the 42nd minute, as Chris Ortiz rushed down the left side on another breakaway attempt for the Wolf Pack. But as the defenseman approached the crease, he located Sullivan Mack with a cross pass ahead of the defense.

It wasn’t enough, though, as Zherenko made another impressive glove save to keep it a two-goal deficit for the Thunderbirds. But in the end, it was too much for Springfield to overcome as they bid farewell to its previous five-game winning streak.

The Thunderbirds will conclude their three-in-three weekend against the first-place Providence Bruins inside the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Sunday at 3:05 p.m.

“We’ll have to see where our bodies are after tonight and see what the treatments look like,” said Ott of the outlook for Sunday’s game. “But one thing for sure is that we have that next-man-up mentality. There have been a lot of guys in and out of the lineup here for us, and they have all done a great job.

“So whoever goes in, I trust.”

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