BELLEVILLE, ON - The Springfield Thunderbirds (25-28-6-2) rode a fantastic night from their shorthanded unit to a 5-3 win over the Belleville Senators (24-30-8-1) on Saturday night at CAA Arena.

The Thunderbirds' penalty-killing unit had a first period for the ages. As if going 3-for-3 was not impressive enough, Springfield added not one, but two shorthanded tallies in the opening 5:31 of the contest. Chris Wagner set up Alek Kaskimaki for the first one, just 1:48 into the festivities, sliding a 2-on-1 pass to the crashing winger in the low slot before Kaskimaki deked to his backhand to beat Mads Sogaard. 

On Springfield's second kill of the period, Dylan Peterson picked off a loose puck at his whole blue line and finished off a shorthanded breakaway with a forehand snapper through Sogaard at 5:31, making it a 2-0 score. 

Tyler Boucher would bring Belleville back to within one when he banked a centering pass off a T-Bird and past Will Cranley at 7:48 of the first, cutting the score to 2-1.

However, Springfield used offensive zone time from a man advantage to strike back at 16:24 as Zach Dean feathered a smooth saucer pass to Juraj Pekarcik for the T-Birds' third goal of the period and first even-strength marker of the night. 

With the teams skating 4-on-4 early in the second, Sam Bolduc netted his first goal as a Senator as he wristed a shot through a screened Cranley to make it a 3-2 game just 55 seconds into the middle stanza.

However, the one-goal score would last only another 55 seconds before Peterson cashed in for his second of the evening, tapping a loose puck past Sogaard in the blue paint following a pass from Pekarcik.

With the 4-2 advantage, Springfield added still more insurance at 5:42 when Chris Wagner stole a breakout pass in the neutral zone and tapped the puck forward for Dillon Dube, who slipped a forehander through Sogaard's five-hole for Springfield's fifth goal on just 13 shots. 

Sogaard's night came to an unceremonious end, as he gave way to Leevi Merilainen, who promptly picked up where he left off from a 40-save shutout in Springfield on Jan. 24, stopping the final eight T-Birds shots of the period to keep the score at 5-2 heading into the third. 

Belleville far outshot Springfield in the third, but the T-Birds kept the Sens from high-danger chances, relenting only a late power-play goal by Carter Yakemchuk at 17:45 of the final period. Cranley picked up his third win of the season in his home province, stopping 23 in the win, including 14 in the final period alone. 

The T-Birds return to the Thunderdome for another tangle with the first place Bruins on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. before hitting the road for a crucial battle with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday at 7:05 p.m. from PPL Center.

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).