SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds staved off elimination for a third time this postseason, picking up a 2-0 shutout win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Thursday night at the MassMutual Center. Springfield win ties the series, 2-2, and forces a deciding Game 5 on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza. 

Early indications were that neither team's red hot goaltender was going to give up anything easy, as the Penguins' Sergei Murashov turned away 13 first period shot attempts from the T-Birds. In turn, Georgii Romanov went a perfect 7-for-7 in the opening period for Springfield. 

The Penguins appeared to take a 1-0 lead just past the 6:00 mark of the game when Harrison Brunicke jumped into a rush on the right side and snapped a shot over Romanov into the top shelf. However, after officials gathered to converse, it was ruled that Romanov could not properly play his position, and the goal was disallowed.

The scoreless deadlock carried well past the midpoint of the game, with Springfield surviving a pair of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton power plays in the opening half of period two. 

The T-Birds' power play then made its presence known, snapping an 0-for-15 drought when Dillon Dube fielded a pass in the slot area and chipped a forehand shot over Murashov's glove to make it a 1-0 Springfield lead at 16:14 of the middle stanza. It was Dube's team-leading fifth goal of the postseason and third in the series. 

The T-Birds continued to make life miserable for the Penguin offense as the game shifted into the third period. With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton unable to register more than seven shots in any period, Springfield took advantage to gain some insurance at 6:48 of the third when Akil Thomas fired a pass in the slot to Thomas Bordeleau. Bordeleau's shot deflected back to a trailing Marc-Andre Gaudet. The defenseman's one-time attempt knocked a stick out of a defender's hand, and the puck slowly elevated and trickled over the head of a perplexed Murashov, making it a 2-0 Springfield lead. 

From there, Romanov took care of the rest, securing a Game 4 shutout for a second consecutive round and moving the T-Birds to a perfect 4-0 record following a loss in these playoffs. 

The two clubs meet to decide the winner of the Atlantic Division Finals on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. inside Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza. 

Thunderbirds' Pay As We Play playoff plans are available now for no upfront cost and will still be in effect should the T-Birds advance to the next round. In addition, 2026-27 season tickets are available now - fans can order now by visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com or by calling (413) 739-GOAL (4625).