DES MOINES, IA - The Springfield Thunderbirds (18-24-4-2) once again posted a prolific offensive showing, outpacing the Iowa Wild (13-28-4-1) for a roller-coaster 8-6 victory on Saturday night inside Casey's Center in Des Moines.

The opening 20 minutes were a roller coaster of emotions for both teams and their fans. Operating a man down in the opening minutes, the T-Birds still managed to break the ice, as Otto Stenberg beat Cal Petersen with a wrister from the left circle at 1:20 of the period, making it 1-0.

Normally a very disciplined team, Springfield succumbed to another penalty two minutes later, and Iowa made them pay as Tyler Pitlick jabbed a backhand rebound over Georgi Romanov to tie the game, 1-1, at 3:53.

Springfield quickly countered at 6:36, as Quinton Burns flipped a wrister that glanced off Zach Dean's blade, skipping through Petersen to make it a 2-1 game in the T-Birds' favor. Jakub Stancl followed up 3:10 later with his second goal in as many days, finishing off a 2-on-1 pass from Hugh McGing to extend Springfield's lead to 3-1. 

Like an evening ago, though, the Wild refused to go away, and Pitlick cashed in on his second of the period off a 2-on-1 setup by Hunter Haight to make it a 3-2 game at 15:14.

The one-goal deficit was short-lived for the Wild, as Thomas Bordeleau stripped the puck from an Iowa defender and rifled home a perfect shot past Petersen's blocker at 15:43 to make it 4-2. The goal was Bordeleau's first in a T-Birds uniform. 

With just precious seconds remaining in the period, the Wild again responded in kind, as Nic Aube-Kubel set up Jack Peart in the left circle for a buzzer-beating tally in the midst of a delayed Springfield penalty, sending Iowa into the break trailing by just a goal at 4-3.

Yet, despite the potential momentum changer from Peart, Springfield quickly responded to begin the middle frame, as Chris Wagner went to a knee to guide a power play feed from Matt Luff in behind Petersen at 1:32 of the second, making it 5-3.

The T-Birds' defense stabilized after the chaos of the first, and the offense continued its confident weekend, as Theo Lindstein cashed in for the second time in two games, punching a shot through Petersen's glove side at 9:15 off another Luff assist to push the lead to 6-3. 

Springfield's power play added to their tally when Michael Buchinger whistled a shot through the legs of William Rousseau, who entered the net in place of Petersen to begin the third. Buchinger's fifth of the season gave the T-Birds a 7-3 advantage.

Even facing a huge deficit, the Wild continued to scratch and claw. A pair of Springfield penalties opened the door for Iowa, and the home side took full advantage as Dylan Gambrell cashed in on a rebound to the right of Romanov at 8:04 to make it 7-4.

David Jiricek followed with a slap shot from the blue line that caromed in behind Romanov at 12:47, and the Springfield lead shrank to 7-5.

Things got even hairier for the T-Birds when Caedan Bankier got to his own rebound at 16:32 to beat Romanov along the near side, and Iowa incredibly got the lead shaved down to a single goal, 7-6. 

In the end, though, Iowa's miraculous comeback attempt came up one tally short, as Luff delivered a much-needed empty net goal with 26 seconds remaining to seal the win. Luff and Stancl each finished their evenings with a goal and two assists, and Springfield's eight goals from eight different players set a club record for most goals in a game on the road. 

The T-Birds finally return home to the Thunderdome to begin a five-game homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 18, against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop inside 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).