HARTFORD, Conn. – The Springfield Thunderbirds (2-10-2-1) could not keep a two-goal lead protected and fell to the Hartford Wolf Pack (4-7-4-0) by a 3-2 final in overtime on Tuesday morning inside PeoplesBank Arena.

For a second straight morning game, the T-Birds got off to a fantastic start, outshooting the Wolf Pack 11-3 in the opening period while holding steady pressure in the Hartford zone. Alek Kaskimaki and Matthew Peca nearly broke the ice with a 2-on-0 in front of Wolf Pack goalie Callum Tung, but the puck wouldn't settle for the T-Birds captain, and the chance came up empty.

The T-Birds' efforts would eventually get rewarded at 13:08 right off a clean draw win by Chris Wagner, who twirled the puck right to a waiting Nikita Alexandrov, who whistled a one-timer over Tung's blocker to give Springfield the 1-0 lead.

3:08 later, the T-Birds' power play unit continued the momentum surge as Logan Mailloux cranked a one-timer past Tung on the glove side off a set-up from Marc-Andre Gaudet, extending the lead to 2-0. Alexandrov got his second point of the stanza with a secondary assist.

Vadim Zherenko barely had to break a sweat in the goal crease in the first, turning away just three shots in 20 minutes and keeping his team's two-goal lead in tow.

The T-Birds could not do anything with two power plays in the second period, but the Springfield penalty kill rose to the forefront in the back half of the frame, killing off three separate Hartford power plays, including a lengthy 5-on-3 disadvantage to hold the 2-0 score after 40 minutes.

The Wolf Pack used a 4-on-4 situation to make their way back into the game at 3:11 of the third as Casey Fitzgerald patiently walked his way past a pair of defenders before setting Justin Dowling for a back-door finish to cut the margin to 2-1.

After Hartford's power play killed off a Springfield advantage, Brett Berard ended a long scoring drought, beating Zherenko along the ice from the left circle at 6:59 to make it a 2-2 game.

Springfield let another man advantage slip through the cracks in the back half of the third, and the 2-2 tie carried into the extra period. 

After both teams traded slashing penalties, with Zherenko making a pair of saves with his team down a man, Fitzgerald ended matters with 33 seconds left in the overtime, slipping to the front of the net to tip a Dowling pass over Zherenko's blocker, completing the comeback for the Wolf Pack.

The T-Birds return home on Friday, Nov. 21 for the annual Mayflower Marathon Kickoff as they host the Utica Comets at 7:05 p.m. at the MassMutual Center.

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).