SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Springfield Thunderbirds (1-7-1-1) had a tough go on special teams, falling 6-2 to the Bridgeport Islanders (4-6-1-0) on Friday night inside a sold-out MassMutual Center.

The Islanders wasted little time taking a lead 1:39 into the action, as Marc Gatcomb cashed in on a rebound after Vadim Zherenko denied an initial breakaway chance for ex-Thunderbird Matthew Highmore.

After seeing their first power play go by the wayside, the Thunderbirds succumbed to a late-period goal from Joey Larson, as the rookie gathered a puck in the right circle and surprised Zherenko with a turnaround bid at 18:16 of the frame.

A fortuitous break got Springfield within a goal at 8:34 of the second period. After Zherenko outletted the puck to Juraj Pekarcik at center ice, the rookie winger flipped a backhander to open ice inside the Bridgeport line. Dylan Peterson alertly scooted to the loose puck and roofed a wrister over Parker Gahagen's glove, making it a 2-1 score.

For a second straight period, Springfield could not take advantage of multiple Islander penalties, and Bridgeport eventually added to their total as Daylan Kuefler perfectly tipped a Cole McWard shot through Zherenko's legs at 16:13 to restore the two-goal Islander lead heading into the third.

One more time, the T-Birds clawed back to a one-goal margin at the 5:00 mark of the final period when an Alek Kaskimaki centering feed from the left side ricocheted off a defender's skate and trickled through Gahagen, making it 3-2.

However, the one-goal deficit would only last 46 seconds, as a penalty put Bridgeport to the man advantage, and Larson quickly added his second of the night, batting a loose puck out of mid-air past Zherenko at 5:46. Hunter Drew followed suit at 5-on-5 at 7:27 to give the Isles a 5-2 lead.

With Springfield shorthanded again in the closing minutes, Adam Beckman added another Bridgeport power play goal at 17:53 to round out the scoring. Gahagen finished his winning night with 25 stops. 

The T-Birds and Islanders renew their acquaintances on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. inside Total Mortgage 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).