The I-91 Rivalry will be renewed in the First Round of the Calder Cup Playoffs as the T-Birds square off with the Hartford Wolf Pack in a best-of-3 showdown. This year’s matchup marks the fourth time in AHL history that Springfield and Hartford have competed against one another in the Calder Cup Playoffs, but it’s the first matchup in 20 years.

Hartford picked up series wins of 3-0 and 3-2 respectively in the First Round in both the 1999 and 2000 postseasons. Thunderbirds head coach Drew Bannister was part of the 2000 Wolf Pack squad that went all the way to capture to a Calder Cup championship. In the 2003 Eastern Conference Qualifiers, the Springfield Falcons got the best of the Wolf Pack, winning 2-0 in the best-of-3 series.

The two nearby rivals – separated by just over a 30-minute drive – have already seen one another 12 times since the start of the regular season, and the T-Birds finished the year with a distinct advantage, posting a 9-2-0-1 record against the Wolf Pack:

• Hartford 0 @ Springfield 1 (Apr 15 2023) Final
• Springfield 4 @ Hartford 0 (Mar 25 2023) Final
• Springfield 5 @ Hartford 6 (Mar 24 2023) Final
• Springfield 4 @ Hartford 2 (Mar 17 2023) Final
• Hartford 0 @ Springfield 4 (Mar 8 2023) Final
• Hartford 0 @ Springfield 1 (Mar 3 2023) Final SO
• Hartford 5 @ Springfield 1 (Feb 22 2023) Final
• Springfield 2 @ Hartford 1 (Dec 31 2022) Final SO
• Hartford 4 @ Springfield 7 (Dec 28 2022) Final
• Springfield 4 @ Hartford 2 (Dec 22 2022) Final
• Springfield 1 @ Hartford 2 (Nov 9 2022) Final SO
• Hartford 1 @ Springfield 5 (Nov 4 2022) Final

The most noticeable detail of the regular season matchups was the Thunderbirds’ staunch defense, which shut out the Wolf Pack an incredible four times, and on five other occasions, Springfield kept Hartford to fewer than three goals.

Joel Hofer, the T-Birds’ AHL Second All-Star Team goaltender, was nothing short of magnificent against Hartford. In nine starts against the Wolf Pack, the 22-year-old backstop posted a 1.41 goals-against average, .955 save percentage, three shutouts, and a 7-1-1 record. In each of his last three starts against Hartford, Hofer has earned shutouts with 27, 31, and 35 saves respectively. His last goal allowed against Hartford came on Feb. 22, more than 200 minutes’ worth of game action ago.

As a collective unit, the Thunderbirds outscored the Wolf Pack 39-23 in the span of those 12 meetings, and Springfield held a definitive edge on special teams, going 26.7% on the power play (12 goals on 45 chances) and 87.8% on the penalty kill (36 for 41).

However, the Wolf Pack enter the postseason having played their best stretch of hockey of the season. Before dropping their season finale to Hofer and Springfield on April 15, Hartford had won eight straight games and nine of the prior 10. The first of those nine wins was perhaps the biggest victory in Hartford’s recent history.

Down 5-2 in the third period on home ice against Springfield on March 24, Hartford – which had tallied only one power play goal in their first nine games of the season series – struck gold with four man-up goals in the final period to stun the T-Birds, 6-5, in regulation. Wolf Pack captain Jonny Brodzinski had five points that night, and the club’s leading goal scorer, rookie Will Cuylle, picked up his first career professional hat trick, including the game-winning goal in the game’s final minute.

The T-Birds have responded admirably to what was, at the time, a debilitating defeat. Garret Sparks picked up the pieces the next night with a 4-0 shutout victory, his 99^th career AHL goaltending triumph, and Hofer picked up his third straight shutout on the season’s penultimate day to lock down home-ice advantage in this series.

If Hofer has been public enemy #1 for the Wolf Pack, pesky winger Will Bitten is a close second. Eight of his career-high 22 goals came at the expense of Hartford, and he led all T-Birds with 15 points in 12 matchups against the Wolf Pack. Bitten was Springfield’s most prolific postseason scorer a year ago when he tallied 21 points (8g, 13a) in 18 playoff games, which included a team-record four-goal performance in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Laval.

The winner of this series has the potential to face either Providence or Hershey in the Atlantic Division Semifinals. If the 3-seed Charlotte Checkers win their series against the 6-seed Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the winner of Hartford-Springfield would have a date with the Bruins. Should Lehigh Valley prevail, the winner of T-Birds/Wolf Pack would take on the Bears.