SPRINGFIELD, Mass - The Springfield Thunderbirds (18-25-4-2) struck quickly, but could not withstand an offensive barrage from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (33-13-3-2) in a 7-2 defeat on Wednesday night inside the MassMutual Center.

Things began promisingly for the T-Birds when Theo Lindstein jumped up into a rush on the left side and roofed a wrister past Penguins All-Star netminder Sergei Murashov, giving Springfield a 1-0 lead just 33 seconds into the contest, the fastest goal from the start of a game by a T-Birds player this season. It was the rookie blueliner's third goal in as many contests.

Unfortunately for the T-Birds, the Penguins' response was swift, with Avery Hayes jamming home a second-chance rebound past Will Cranley at 1:14, tying the game at 1-1. Just 30 more seconds elapsed before Ville Koivunen crashed the net front and punched home a centering feed from Aaron Huglen, flipping the score into Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's favor, 2-1.

Neither Hayes nor Koivunen was done doing damage in the opening period, either. Cranley misfired on a pass behind his net at 10:25, and Hayes stole it on the right-wing wall and whipped it home into the yawning net, making it 3-1. At 15:01, Koivunen cashed in a second time when he stole a puck in the slot and wired a low shot under Cranley's legs to stretch the lead to 4-1. Cranley was then relieved of his net in favor of Vadim Zherenko.

Zherenko answered the bell in a busy middle stanza, where the Springfield backstop was forced to face 19 shot attempts, and he did the job to perfection, preventing the Penguins from adding to their total. Meanwhile, Springfield's power play got one goal closer at 8:27 when Dillon Dube drove around a defender on the left wing before slipping a backhander through Murashov's blocker, cutting the margin to 4-2 heading into the third. Calle Rosen and Zherenko were credited with the assists.

After holding the fort in the second, the T-Bird defense finally relented once again in the third as Hayes completed his second hat trick of the month on a one-time feed from Rutger McGroarty 1:31 into the third. Rookie Tanner Howe added two goals of his own at 8:26 and 11:45, respectively, to complete the Penguins' prolific offensive evening.

Murashov, thanks to his timely saves in the first two periods, improved to 19-6-1 on the season, making 30 stops on 32 Springfield attempts. Zherenko made 27 saves for his night's work in relief of Cranley. 

The T-Birds continue this busy three-game week on home ice this Friday at 7:05 p.m. as they square off against their division rival Bridgeport Islanders at the Thunderdome. 

Single-game tickets and ticket memberships for all remaining games in the Thunderbirds' 2025-26 season are available now - fans can order now by visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com or by calling (413) 739-GOAL (4625).