BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The Springfield Thunderbirds (16-15-2-1) rode the hot hand of their netminder to a 4-0 shutout win over the Bridgeport Islanders (8-23-2-2) on Wednesday night at Total Mortgage Arena. Springfield has now won its last three games.

The T-Birds asserted themselves on the scoreboard first in the moments immediately following a successful penalty kill in the opening half of the first frame. Simon Robertsson carried the puck across the Bridgeport zone on the left side before dropping it to a crash Dylan Peterson coming down the center lane. Peterson attempted to funnel a pass to MacKenzie MacEachern on the right wing side, but his pass ended up deflecting off a Bridgeport stick and behind Henrik Tikkanen to give the visitors the 1-0 lead at 5:37.

Colten Ellis, drawing the starting assignment in net for a third straight game, picked up where he left off in his marvelous 36-save performance on Sunday in Hartford and had every answer in a first-period shooting gallery that saw the Isles unleash 14 attempts on goal. Tikkanen had nine saves at the opposite goal crease. 

Steve Konowalchuk's team dominated possession time in the middle frame, limiting the Islanders to just two shots on net, and at the other end, the forecheck generated a lengthy offensive zone stay that culminated in a Robertsson one-timer that whizzed past Tikkanen at 6:52 off a cross-ice setup by Hugh McGing. The rookie's third goal in the last two games gave Springfield some insurance, but the T-Birds left another opportunity slip by when they could not connect with a double-minor power play in the closing minutes of the period.

The T-Birds quickly learned from their power play shortcomings in the second, and just 29 seconds into the third, captain Matthew Peca deflected a Samuel Johannesson point wrister through Tikkanen's legs to extend the Springfield advantage to 3-0.

From there, Ellis made sure the home team tasted no success, as the T-Birds' backstop added 15 more stops in the third period to his splendid 31-save shutout performance. The blank sheet was Springfield's first of the 2024-25 season and the first shutout of Ellis's AHL career. 

The T-Birds and Isles have a grudge match on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. when the rivals square off again at Total Mortgage Arena. For Springfield, it's the beginning of a three-game, three-day stretch.

Fans can get their Thunderbirds tickets today by calling (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or by visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.