Atlantic Division First Round (Best of 3): Springfield Thunderbirds vs. Providence Bruins

Series Schedule:

• Game 1 @ Providence: Wednesday, April 23 - 7:05 p.m., Amica Mutual Pavilion
• Game 2 @ Springfield: Friday, April 25 - 7:05 p.m., MassMutual Center
• Game 3* @ Providence: Sunday, April 27 - 3:05 p.m., Amica Mutual Pavilion

Team Comparison:

How the Season Series Played Out:

Oct. 19 @ SPR: T-Birds 4, Bruins 2: Dylan Peterson netted a pair of goals - his second multi-goal game of the week - and Corey Schueneman picked up his first goal as a T-Bird, while Colten Ellis locked down his first win of the year with 28 stops.

Oct. 20 @ PRO: Bruins 3, T-Birds 0: The first of Providence's two shutout wins over the T-Birds this year, Bruins All-Star First Team netminder Michael DiPietro had every answer to 23 Springfield attempts to salvage a split of the home-and-home series. It was the first of DiPietro's four shutouts this season.

Dec. 1 @ PRO: T-Birds 3, Bruins 2: Debuting their Springfield Indian throwback jerseys on the road, the T-Birds began December with a strong showing in enemy territory. Goals by Alek Kaskimaki, Matt Luff, and Drew Callin paced Springfield to a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes, and Ellis held off a late push from the Bruins to preserve the win.

Jan. 11 @ SPR: T-Birds 6, Bruins 4: A sold-out Throwback Night crowd saw an early explosion of offense from the home team as goals by Peterson and Schueneman chased Brandon Bussi from the Providence net just six shots and 8:04 into the game. Matthew Peca added three assists and moved into 1st on the T-Birds' all-time scoring list in the process. 

Jan. 19 @ PRO: Bruins 4, T-Birds 0: Bussi bounced back from his tough start in Springfield eight days prior with a 27-save shutout. Jeff Viel scored in the opening minute, Tyler Pitlick added a pair, and the Bruins went a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill to stifle the T-Birds attack.

Jan. 25 @ SPR: Bruins 4, T-Birds 3 (SO): The T-Birds, down 3-1 late in the second, got goals just 18 seconds apart from MacKenzie MacEachern and Luff to tie the score, but Bussi outlasted Vadim Zherenko in a shootout, turning away all three Springfield shooters. Peca, Luff, and MacEachern combined for eight points in the losing effort.

Feb. 7 @ PRO: Bruins 3, T-Birds 2 (SO): A second straight one-goal affair saw Zherenko shine with 42 stops to give the T-Birds a chance. The now-departed Max Jones tied the game at 2 for Providence with just 3:55 remaining, and only seconds after Springfield had killed a too-many-men penalty. After Merkulov had been the hero for the Bruins two weeks earlier, Vinni Lettieri tallied the lone shootout goal in the second round to allow Providence to squeak out the win.

Feb. 8 @ SPR: T-Birds 5, Bruins 2: The T-Birds took on their Ice-O-Topes moniker and, like the prior four installments of this theme night, came away victorious behind a burst of five goals in the final 20:08 of game action, headed by Nikita Alexandrov's three-point night. Ellis outplayed DiPietro with 30 stops in the win, while Dalibor Dvorsky and Peca each had multi-point efforts to join Alexandrov.

March 1 @ PRO: T-Birds 4, Bruins 3 (SO): The third time was the charm for the T-Birds in a shootout, as Zherenko outlasted DiPietro in extra shooters. Trailing by a goal late in the third, Corey Andonovski's first goal as a T-Bird sent the game into the extra period. Springfield's power play also had its best night of the season series, scoring on both of its opportunities against the Bruins' second-ranked PK. 

March 8 @ SPR: T-Birds 2, Bruins 1: Before a sold-out Pink in the Rink crowd, the T-Birds received one of their best goaltending nights of the year from Ellis, whose 39 saves preserved a victory in the defensive struggle, with 19 of those denials coming in the final period alone. Peca factored into both Springfield goals, including the game-winner with just two seconds left in the middle period. Joey Abate had the lone tally for the Bruins early in the second.

March 16 @ SPR: Bruins 4, T-Birds 1: Fraser Minten's debut in the Springfield/Providence rivalry proved pivotal for the Bruins, as the newly-acquired centerman tallied a natural hat trick in less than 30 minutes and added an assist on an insurance tally by Riley Duran. DiPietro made the lead stand up with 24 stops, relenting only a second-period marker by Dvorsky.

March 30 @ PRO: T-Birds 3, Bruins 2: In what was perhaps the defining moment for the T-Birds in the 12-game season series, Alexandrov went into superhero mode with two goals in the final 90 seconds of regulation to stun the Bruins and complete a three-game weekend sweep for Springfield. The game's final moments also set the table for animosity come playoff time, as a dust-up between MacEachern and Matthew Poitras saw MacEachern leave injured. He has not returned to action since.