ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (26-29-6-2) got big performances from their leadership group en route to a 5-3 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (27-30-3-3) on Friday night in a pivotal Atlantic Division battle inside the PPL Center. With the win, the T-Birds jumped back into the sixth and final playoff position in the Atlantic Division with nine games remaining.

Veteran leaders helped set the early tone for Springfield as captain Chris Wagner dropped a pass inside the blue line to Dillon Dube, who wired a wrister past Aleksei Kolosov at 7:28 of the first to hand the T-Birds the 1-0 advantage. 

Lehigh Valley got a response courtesy of one of their veteran leaders 4:17 later as Anthony Richard finished a backhand bid past Vadim Zherenko off a set-up pass by pro debutant Cole Knuble to tie the score, 1-1.

Numerous scoring chances and one power play for each team also came up empty as Zherenko finished a busy first with nine saves, while Kolosov stopped the other 11 offerings that came into his crease.

The T-Birds' leadership group was not finished putting their stamp on the contest, as Dube created a turnover deep in the Lehigh Valley zone, nudging the puck into the slot for Wagner, who rifled a forehander through Kolosov at 7:09 of the second, extending the Springfield advantage to 2-1. 

Zherenko barely had to lift a finger in the middle period as the T-Birds allowed a season-low two shots in the frame. However, the Phantoms' penalty kill, which had been struggling mightily against the T-Birds, answered the bell with two man-down successes to keep their deficit at a single goal heading into the final period.

After failing to equalize on a power play to begin the third, the Phantoms eventually got the game squared up again at 6:32 when David Jiricek found Zayde Wisdom crashing the net to make it a 2-2 score.

Unruffled, the T-Birds then turned the game on its head with three goals in a 4:28 blitz, beginning with Alek Kaskimaki scooping up a rebound in the blue paint at 9:08 to restore the Springfield lead, 3-2. Wagner and Dube each picked up their third points of the night on the helpers.

Just 2:10 later, Marc-Andre Gaudet made an alert read up on the right-wing wall to steal a puck off a Phantoms defender before setting up Juraj Pekarcik for an insurance making tally and a 4-2 lead. Pekarcik also drew a Springfield power play following a post-goal cross-check by Sawyer Boulton. 

The T-Birds did not score on the ensuing power play, but it set the table for Hugh McGing to join the party at 13:36, firing a perfect shot into the top shelf from the left circle and giving Springfield the 5-2 advantage.

Oscar Eklind finally halted the T-Birds scoring run at 17:44, but it proved to be too little, too late for Lehigh Valley. Zherenko needed to make just 18 saves for his 14th win of the season, while Kolosov had 27 stops in the losing effort for the PHantoms. 

The T-Birds complete their week's worth of games in Providence on Sunday against the Bruins; puck drop is set for 3:05 p.m. at Amica Mutual Pavilion. 

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).