ROCKFORD, Ill. — The Springfield Thunderbirds (23-19-2-3) suffered a second straight gut-wrenching loss in the closing moments, falling 4-3 to the Rockford IceHogs (19-22-5-1) on Saturday night inside the BMO Center.

Things got off to a rocky start for the T-Birds, who fell behind 1-0 just 64 seconds into the game after a misplayed puck wound up on the tape of Joey Anderson inside the right-wing circle. Anderson made no mistake in snapping it through Colten Ellis on the stick side, giving Rockford the 1-0 advantage.

Ellis solidified things over the next 15 minutes, turning away the next nine IceHogs attempts while the T-Birds struggled to find offense. Finally, a pair of Rockford penalties afforded Springfield a 4-on-3 power play, and Matt Luff unleashed a perfect wrist shot that squeaked past Ben Gaudreau's blocker to tie the game, 1-1, at 18:17. 

Springfield's momentum would not last long, though, and just 32 seconds later, Brett Seney picked off a loose puck in the high slot and quickly wristed a try under the crossbar to restore the IceHogs lead, 2-1, heading into the intermission. 

Anderson's hot hand carried over into the early stages of the second, as he found a gap through the five-hole of Ellis to make it a 3-1 score at 5:19 of the middle stanza. 

Through the opening 30 minutes of play, the T-Birds had managed just six shots on goal. However, the visitors clawed their way back, beginning with Illinois native Hugh McGing tucking home a rebound outside the blue paint at 12:55 to cut the Rockford lead to 3-2. 

Dylan Peterson thought he had brought the T-Birds back even when he shuffled a loose puck across the goal line just over a minute later, but the call was changed to no-goal after the referees congregated. Nevertheless, Springfield pressed on, and on the next shift, Matthew Peca punched home a rebound off an Alek Kaskimaki shot, and the game was deadlocked at the 14:56 mark of the second. 

Ellis and Gaudreau did their part to lock things down from that point, as the two netminders kept the score locked in the 3-3 stalemate into the game's final minutes. Unfortunately for Springfield, they succumbed to a late game-winner for a second straight game when Andreas Athanasiou broke up the ice in a 2-on-1 with Anderson and tucked a backhander around Ellis to win it for Rockford with just 1:59 left in the third. Ellis suffered only his second loss in his last 11 starts, and the Springfield goalie also saw his five-game win streak get snapped in the process.

The T-Birds return to home ice on Wednesday as they welcome in the Hartford Wolf Pack for another installment of the Mercy Medical Center I-91 Rivalry. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. on Feb. 19 at the Thunderdome.

Fans can get their Thunderbirds tickets today by calling (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or by visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.