SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Springfield Thunderbirds (34-29-2-4) could not fight back against a desperate Belleville Senators (33-26-4-5) squad in a 4-2 loss on Friday night inside a sold-out MassMutual Center.

The Senators and T-Birds were each diligent in their shooting mentalities in the opening half of the first period, but Vadim Zherenko of Springfield and Leevi Merilainen of Belleville were stout, and a scoreless period carried into the final six minutes of the frame. Belleville finally broke the ice at 15:02 as Donovan Sebrango slipped into an open space at the inside of the left circle before snapping a perfect wrister over Zherenko's shoulder to make it 1-0 for the visitors.

The Senator lead would not make it three minutes, though, as Matthew Peca responded at 18:00 of the first period following a steal in the low slot by Otto Stenberg that set up the captain with a yawning net in front of him. 

A similar trend continued in the second period. Belleville restored its lead on a 2-on-1 with Jamieson Rees setting up Tristen Robins for his first goal as a Senator at 7:05 to make it 2-1 for the Sens. Once again, though, the Springfield response was swift, as Calen Addison snapped home his second goal in two games, set up by former Senator Tarun Fizer just 2:12 after the Robins goal.

Belleville did not stop their push, though. With their second power play chance of the evening, Xavier Bourgault stepped to the front of the net from the left corner, faked a pass across the crease, and stuffed the puck upstairs on the short side of Zherenko, giving the Senators a third advantage of the night, 3-2 at 16:42. This time, Springfield failed to answer in kind, and the 3-2 Belleville lead carried into the third. 

Springfield's parade to the penalty box continued in the third, and the Senators put the game away on a man-advantage goal from Philippe Daoust at 8:15 of the third to round out the scoring. Merilainen settled in and made 25 stops in the Belleville win, while Zherenko ended his evening with 23 denials.

Springfield finishes the road portion of its 2024-25 season on Saturday in Pennsylvania for a 6:05 p.m. tangle with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza. Fans can watch the game on AHLTV powered by FloHockey or listen on NewsRadio 560 WHYN.

Fans can get their Thunderbirds tickets for the Calder Cup playoff push today by calling (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or by visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.