SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (7-8-0-4) begin their second three-game weekend of the season on Friday night as they welcome a Western Conference opponent in regular season play for the first time. The Rockford IceHogs (9-7-0-1), the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, will be on hand for the first of two meetings between the clubs this season. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. inside the MassMutual Center. Springfield will travel to Rockford for a rematch on Friday, Jan. 20. 

The Thunderbirds look to rebound from a trio of tightly-contested defeats over the last week. Springfield got two more splendid performances from goaltender Joel Hofer, who compiled a microscopic 1.96 goals-against average and .938 save percentage over seven November starts. Despite Hofer's 63 saves against Hershey on Wednesday and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday, the T-Birds' offensive sticks came up just a little short, falling 2-1 against the Bears and 3-2 in a shootout against the Penguins.

The T-Birds battled valiantly on the road on Sunday in Bridgeport, erasing a 4-2 deficit against the Islanders in the final period, but the Islanders got the puck luck on a game-winning power-play goal with just over three minutes to play in a 6-4 triumph.

Familiar opponents round out the weekend slate for the T-Birds, as they visit the Providence Bruins on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence. Then Springfield will make a second consecutive Sunday visit to Bridgeport in a rematch with the Islanders at 3:00 p.m. at Total Mortgage Arena.

Through the season's first 19 games, Matthew Highmore leads all T-Birds with 20 points, including a team-high 16 assists. Fellow first-year T-Bird Martin Frk also is clicking at a point-per-game pace with 17 points in 17 games.

After this busy weekend, the T-Birds return home for back-to-back games on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10 against two more Central Division opponents, the Grand Rapids Griffins and Milwaukee Admirals, respectively.

Thunderbirds fans can reserve their seats for the 2022-23 season and lock in the best prices and member benefits by calling (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.