By: Sam Zis, Howlings
Springfield, MA – The Springfield Thunderbirds set a franchise record with their seventh straight win after defeating the visiting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4-2 at the MassMutual Center on Friday night.
The T-Birds started quickly. After missing a high-quality scoring opportunity in the first minute, Keean Washkurak found the back of the net just four minutes into the game. The sneaky wrister found its way past the Penguins’ starting goaltender, Taylor Gauthier.
A recent AHL All-Star selection Matthew Highmore continued the early offense with a power play goal halfway through the first period. Highmore caught a pass from Matthew Peca and threaded the needle with a beautiful between-the-legs play past Gauthier.
With 2:45 left in the first, the Penguins cut the lead in half with a power play goal of their own. The Thunderbirds took a controversial Too Many Men penalty, which the Penguins capitalized on off a crazy double-deflection goal that was awarded to Colin Swoyer.
At the first intermission, the Penguins were outshooting the Thunderbirds 14-10, despite trailing on the scoreboard 2-1.
Springfield came out of the gates hard to start the second period. The Thunderbirds dominated play and peppered Gauthier with quality shots but couldn’t solve him. The Penguins didn’t get their first shot on goal in the period until a slapshot into the glove of Thunderbirds goaltender Vadim Zherenko with only 8;42 left in the second period.
The Thunderbirds’ domination in the second period resulted in a power play goal with 5 minutes to play in the period as American Hockey League veteran Martin Frk buried a slapshot top shelf past Gauthier for his 16th of the season.
The Thunderbirds flipped the shot total on the Penguins 25-22 after 40 minutes.
The Thunderbirds aimed to defend their lead in the third period; but, the Penguins had different ideas. Only 4 minutes into the period Penguins forward Alex Nylander snipped a blast past Zherenko to cut the lead down to one.
With the Penguins pressing, the Thunderbirds found themselves on their heels being forced to fend off a flurry of shots only two minutes after Nylander’s goal.
The physical game heated up as the period progressed. The Penguins were frustrated by their lack of scoring chances, due to a smothering defensive performance by the Thunderbirds.
The Thunderbirds sealed the deal with Peca’s empty-netter with 44 seconds left in the game.
After the game, T-Birds Head Coach Drew Bannister praised his leadership group and the team’s hard work.
Washkurak’s energy and physical play were very impressive throughout the contest. Bannister described him as, “a workhorse from day one.”
The Thunderbirds look to extend their streak to eight Saturday night when they face off against the Bridgeport Islanders in the team’s highly popular, “Springfield Isotopes game.”
