SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Springfield Thunderbirds (31-26-2-4) bounced back to begin a three-game weekend with a 4-0 shutout win over the Iowa Wild (22-34-5-1) on Friday night in the first of a two-game series between the clubs inside a sold-out MassMutual Center.

Springfield continued to battle their offensive struggles in the opening period, managing just five shots on the net of Iowa goalie Dylan Ferguson. The closest chance came on a 3-on-2 rush for the T-Birds' top line, but MacKenzie MacEachern could not guide a Matthew Peca pass through Ferguson at the edge of the blue paint. 

At the other end, Colten Ellis was stellar in a busy opening period, making 11 saves, including a key shorthanded stick save off of Ben Jones. Despite their league-worst penalty kill stats entering the night, the Wild went 2-for-2 with a man down in the opening period.

The game saw a pivotal moment at 8:48 of the third when Matt Luff was injured on a crunching check into the boards by Carson Lambos. Hunter Skinner arrived to stand up for Luff, dropping the mitts with Lambos. Following their fighting majors, the T-Birds took advantage off the very next puck drop.

The T-Birds finally ended their 11-period even-strength goal drought at 8:52 of the second with a simple play design as a Samuel Johannesson point shot glanced off the stick of Dylan Peterson before scooting past Ferguson. Peterson's 12th goal of the season came in his first game back after missing 11 straight contests with an injury.

Less than two minutes later, Springfield's offense added on as Peca slipped a pass near the paint, and Corey Andonovski found MacEachern on the back post for a tap in at 10:50, making it 2-0. Ferguson was injured trying to make the save and would be replaced in the Iowa net by Samuel Hlavaj.

While Springfield could not challenge Hlavaj much in the closing half of the second, Hugh McGing added to the lead 4:36 into the third, one-touching a perfect snapper into the top shelf off a slick cross-ice feed from Peterson. 

10 minutes later, Peca returned to the goal column with his 28th of the year, extending his career-high on a one-time setup from Skinner and MacEachern at 14:36.

Ellis held the fort down the rest of the way, finishing his night with double-digit saves in each frame en route to his third shutout of the season. Springfield's penalty kill buoyed Ellis all evening, going 5-for-5 in fending off the Iowa man advantage.

The T-Birds' magic number to clinch a Calder Cup playoff spot has fallen to 10, thanks to their victory. The regulation win also ensured that the T-Birds hold the tiebreaker against the Wolf Pack if the teams finish with the same point total. The T-Birds and Wild complete their four-game season series on Saturday night with another slated 7:05 p.m. puck drop at the Thunderdome. 
 

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.