SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (2-2-0-1) were unable to overcome early special teams issues in a 6-3 loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (2-2-1-0) on Friday night inside the MassMutual Center to begin a two-game weekend set.

The T-Birds' troublesome power play had an inauspicious start to Friday's contest, as the Phantoms connected on a shorthanded goal just 1:29 into the action. Jonathan Gruden carried the puck over the right wing before chipping a pass across the slot to Jett Luchanko. Rather than fire the puck, Luchanko alerted spotted a third attacker in defenseman Hunter McDonald, who rifled a one-timer past a helpless Georgii Romanov to break the ice and give Lehigh Valley the 1-0 advantage. It marked the fifth straight game where the Phantoms opened the scoring to begin their season. 

When the T-Birds' penalty kill got a chance to atone, things did not fare much better, as a failed clear allowed the Phantoms to keep pressure up, and Jacob Gaucher connected on a rebound for his fourth goal of the early season at 10:45 to extend the visitors' lead to 2-0. 

The hot Lehigh Valley power play added onto their cushion at 3:29 of the third when Cole Knuble got inside position at the net front and chipped a Riley Thompson pass over Romanov to make it a 3-0 lead. Alex Bump followed with a goal in his fourth consecutive game, a backhander at 4-on-4 at 8:06.

The T-Birds' power play finally righted itself at 18:11 of the second as T.J. Tynan one-timed a puck through Carson Bjarnason from Alek Kaskimaki to cut the margin to 4-1. Kaskimaki has now recorded points in all five Springfield games to begin the season. 

As the game entered the final period, Springfield's power play seemed to turn a corner in its confidence when two separate Phantoms penalties gave the T-Birds a two-minute 5-on-3 advantage. With that opportunity, Tynan spotted Justin Carbonneau for a one-time missile from the left circle that caught twine and made it 4-2 at 6:02 of the third. With the helper, Tynan reached 700 career points as a pro.

However, the Phantoms once again had a response, as Luchanko's third point of the night and first AHL goal from the right circle at 9:01 restored the three-goal cushion at 5-2.

Springfield would find a shorthanded goal for the third straight game at 12:59 when Oskar Sundqvist followed his own shot off the end glass to beat Bjarnason at the far spot, but little time remained. Bump would seal the victory for the visitors, hitting an empty net at 16:28. 

The T-Birds and Phantoms reconvene at 6:05 p.m. on Saturday in a rematch. T-Birds fans 21 and older can come down to The Landing at 3:00 p.m. for Boots 'N Brews, presented by Nutrl Vodka Seltzer, which runs until 5:00 p.m.

2026-27 season and individual game tickets are on sale now. Reserve your seats at SpringfieldThunderbirds.com or call (413) 739-GOAL (4625).