LAVAL, QC - The Springfield Thunderbirds (24-28-6-2) struggled to find offense against the stout defense of the Laval Rocket (38-19-2-3) on Friday night in a 4-1 loss inside Place Bell.

The two teams, each entering with two-game winning streaks, started the game confidently, with chances traded at both ends. Netminders Vadim Zherenko for Springfield and Kaapo Kahkonen for the Rocket were equal to the task through a busy opening half of the period. 

Kale Kessy and Vincent Arseneau also got the capacity crowd inside Place Bell into the action with an exciting scrap at the 5:12 mark of the period. 

Springfield fended off 10 Rocket shots in 10 minutes and then got the scoring started at 11:11 when Hunter Skinner joined an outnumbered attack and shuffled a backhand rebound past Kahkoken after a stop off of Thomas Bordeleau. Fellow Quebec native Julien Gauthier picked up an assist alongside Bordeleau to give Springfield the 1-0 lead. 

After the Skinner goal, both teams took turns in the sin bin, as the T-Birds killed a Rocket power play, then Laval returned the favor to dodge a four-minute Springfield advantage.

Unfortunately for the visitors, back-to-back penalties for too many men and slashing gave Laval a 5-on-3 in the final minute of the first, and former Blue Sammy Blais tapped home a point-blank pass from Joshua Roy to even the score at 19:04. Springfield would survive the remainder of the period to get to intermission deadlocked, 1-1.

The T-Birds would go on to outpace the Rocket in shots, 9-5 in the middle period, but Laval was opportunistic at 8:13 when Jared Davidson found a soft spot in the high slot, caught a pass from Owen Beck, and snapped a glove-side laser past Zherenko for the only goal of the second, giving Laval a 2-1 lead into the third.

Filip Mesar furthered Laval's lead when he beat Zherenko off a 2-on-1 centering pass from Beck at 5:57 of the third, making it 3-1, and Springfield never would get closer, as the Rocket penalty kill stymied the T-Birds one final time down the stretch, with Florian Xhekaj adding a shorthanded, empty-net goal to close the scoring. 

The T-Birds complete their Canadian road trip on Saturday night at 7:00 when they square off against the Belleville Senators at CAA Arena.

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).