SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (30-30-6-2) unleashed 37 attempts at the net of the Hartford Wolf Pack (25-35-5-3) but were kept in check in a 3-1 defeat at the hands of their Braman I-91 Rivalry Series opponents in front of a sellout crowd of 6,793 inside the MassMutual Center on Saturday night.

The T-Birds were sluggish out of the gates, and despite a seven-game losing streak coming into the game, the Wolf Pack took advantage of early mistakes, beginning with an Anton Blidh goal off a cross-crease setup by Bryce McConnell-Barker at 7:58 of the first. 

A Springfield penalty set the stage for Hartford's first and only power play of the game, and just 1:03 after Blidh's goal, Brendan Brisson made a highlight-reel play, putting the puck between his legs and chipping a forehander past Vadim Zherenko at 9:01 to make it a 2-0 score.

Thunderbirds head coach Steve Ott called a timeout to try to quell Hartford's momentum, but even that proved futile as Scott Morrow blasted a slapper that squeezed through Zherenko 39 seconds later to make it a 3-0 score. 

The T-Birds finally got one back at 13:28 when Zach Dean saucered a perfect 2-on-1 pass to Hugh McGing, who elevated a shot through Callum Tung to cut the lead to 3-1. 

From that point, Zherenko's night was relatively quiet, with Hartford only registering 13 shots for the remainder of the game after their three-goal blitz in the opening period. The Springfield power play had a half-dozen chances to try to cut into the deficit, but the Hartford penalty killing in front of Tung held the fort, and the rookie backstop finished his night with 36 stops for his sixth win of the season and second in three starts against Springfield.

With their magic number still sitting at 4 points as of the game's conclusion, the T-Birds will look to cut into the number on Sunday when they complete a 3-in-3 weekend in Providence against the Bruins, with puck drop set for 3:05 p.m. from Amica Mutual Pavilion.

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).