SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (3-6-0-0) had few answers for a desperate opponent as the Bridgeport Islanders (2-5-1-1) skated away 4-1 winners on Friday night inside the MassMutual Center.

After winning eight of the 12 meetings last season, the Islanders were hoping to pick up right where they left off, and Wyatt Newpower did just that with a seeing-eye wrist shot that clanged off the underside of the crossbar behind Vadim Zherenko just 2:27 into the opening period. 

Despite the early deficit, the T-Birds were not ruffled, and 19-year-old Dalibor Dvorsky answered with a skillful finish just 44 seconds later to tie the score. After Reece Newkirk won puck possession in a board battle, Nikita Alexandrov arrived to slip a pass in front of the net to Dvorsky, who lifted a deft backhand under the crossbar with pressure on his back. The rookie's fourth goal of the season tied the score, 1-1, at 3:11.

The Islanders continued to show desperation in the middle period, as they registered 16 shots in the middle period to Springfield's seven. On their second power play of the stanza, Bridgeport retook the lead as Fredrik Karlstrom tapped home a pass from Alex Jefferies to cap off a tic-tac-toe play at 12:01. Chris Terry started the sequence with a firm pass to Jefferies from the left circle. From his position in the right circle, Jefferies tapped the puck into the blue paint, where Karlstrom finished the play to make it 2-1.

Brian Pinho secured an all-important insurance goal in the dying seconds of the period with a terrific individual effort, chipping a puck around a defender at the offensive blue line, cutting in alone on Zherenko, and scooping a shot under the crossbar to make it a 3-1 game with just 13 seconds left in the frame.

Springfield upped its shot quantity in the final 20 minutes and drew a third power play chance. Still, the struggles continued on the man advantage, and the Islanders added further insurance when Isaiah George garnered his first AHL goal at 15:23 of the third. Zherenko finished his busy night with 31 stops.

The T-Birds return to the Thunderdome on Saturday night for their first meeting of the season against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The first 2,500 fans in the building will receive a Boomer for President bobblehead, compliments of MassLive. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.

Interested 2024-25 season ticket members can call (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or visit www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com to learn how to become a regular at the Thunderdome.