SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Springfield Thunderbirds (25-19-2-3) overcame two separate deficits to take a 5-3 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (28-13-5-1) before a sellout crowd of 6,793 on Saturday night inside the MassMutual Center. 

The T-Birds had a tough time generating much in the way of offense in the opening frame on veteran netminder Tristan Jarry, managing only four attempts on the net in the first. Jarry did come up with one high-danger save when he turned away T-Birds captain Matthew Peca on a point-blank backhander. 

Colten Ellis faced a much heavier workload at the other goal crease, as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton uncorked 13 shots at the Springfield cage. The T-Birds' sturdy netminder held up until an unfortunate misplay of a puck at 16:21 allowed Ville Koivunen to step into a half-slapper that glanced off the inside of the post to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead into the break.

Springfield responded immediately as the second period began. After a lengthy stretch in the offensive zone, Alek Kaskimaki twisted a puck toward the slot area just 31 seconds into the frame. The Finn received a fortuitous bounce off a Penguins defender before it slipped between Jarry's legs to tie the score, 1-1. 

The deadlocked game only last for 46 seconds, though, as Boris Katchouk answered back with a goal for the Penguins at 1:17 off a cross-ice pass from Vasily Ponomarev, and the visitors restored their lead to 2-1.

The Penguins' top-ranked power play failed on a pair of chances to extend the lead, and the one-goal margin carried into the back half of the period. With 5:37 left in the middle stanza, Otto Stenberg got Springfield even as he slipped into a soft spot in the high slot, took a pass from Corey Schueneman, and beat Jarry over the stick side to tie the game 2-2. 

Schueneman's heroics continued into the final minute of the frame, as he received a pass from Stenberg just outside the left circle and let a slapper go that squeezed through Jarry's legs to give the T-Birds their first lead, 3-2, with just 27 seconds remaining in period two.

Playing in his 200th game as a T-Bird, Peca gave Springfield some necessary breathing room at 14:33 of the third when he positioned himself at the top of the blue paint and deflected a Matt Luff shot through Jarry to raise the score to 4-2. It marked Peca's team-leading 20th goal of the season and the second time the captain has hit that threshold as a T-Bird; he scored 23 times during the 2021-22 campaign. 

The Penguins would not go quietly into the evening, and on their fourth power play of the night, Valtteri Puustinen cleaned up a rebound to the right of Ellis at 16:59 to make it a 4-3 game. Despite some tense moments down the home stretch, the T-Birds survived the late push, and Nikita Alexandrov extended his point streak to eight games with an empty-net score at 19:40 to close the books on the contest.

The T-Birds look to complete a perfect week on Sunday afternoon as they visit the Bridgeport Islanders at Total Mortgage Arena for a 3:00 p.m. puck drop.

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