PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Springfield Thunderbirds (4-6-2-2) picked themselves off the mat with a two-goal third period comeback, but ultimately fell in a shootout, 3-2, on Friday night against the Providence Bruins (8-8-0-0) at Amica Mutual Pavilion.

Springfield's power play had an opportunity to get the visitors on the board first just 3:05 into the contest, but the Providence kill successfully dodged it.

Meanwhile, the Bruins' power play, which had been just 1-for-26 at home entering Friday's game, had a rebuttal at 12:53 as Jordan Harris crept up into the left circle and jabbed a forehand shot through Georgii Romanov. It marked the sixth straight game that Springfield allowed the first goal of the contest. 

The T-Birds' power play conundrum continued in the second period, as the visitors had three separate man-up chances, but could not solve Bruins goalie Jiri Patera. Springfield was also plagued with numerous attempts that missed the cage, as the T-Birds' shot total sat at just 11 through 40 minutes of play.

Romanov had done what he could to keep the Springfield deficit at a single goal, but veteran Alex Steeves finally broke through off the rush at 16:17 on a curl-and-drag forehand to beat Romanov and send Providence to the final period with a 2-0 lead in tow, on the heels of a perfect 4-for-4 penalty kill through two periods. 

Despite all their frustrations on offense, the T-Birds refused to go down feebly. After a delay of game call on Providence sent Springfield to its fifth power play, the T-Birds finally came through as Justin Carbonneau unleashed a rifling one-timer through Patera at 9:16 to cut the lead in half, 2-1, snapping an eight-game goal scoring drought for the rookie in the process. 

With the Bruins falling back on their heels, the T-Birds then used a delayed penalty to set the stage for an equalizer as T.J. Tynan -- moments after setting up the Carbonneau goal -- filtered a puck into middle ice, where it glanced off a Bruin and slipped past Patera to tie the score with 4:19 remaining. 

Springfield got rewarded for their gritty third period with a power play that carried into overtime, but with the game on the line, Patera and the Providence penalty kill stiffened, with the Bruins goalie turning away ex-Bruin Chris Wagner on the doorstep in the opening minute of overtime. 

With nothing settled after a five-minute extra period, the T-Birds found themselves in a shootout for the second time this season. Otto Stenberg answered a first round goal by Dans Locmelis, but Providence squeaked out the win when Steeves beat Romanov over the glove in the third and final round, while Patera turned away both Jakub Stancl and Carbonneau. 

The T-Birds' road weekend continues on Saturday as they make their first trek to Hartford for a 7:15 p.m. matchup against the Wolf Pack at PeoplesBank Arena.

2026-27 T-Birds season memberships and individual game tickets are on sale now. Reserve your seats at SpringfieldThunderbirds.com or call (413) 739-GOAL (4625).