SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Springfield Thunderbirds (12-9-2-0) dispatched a 4-1 second intermission deficit to earn a standings point before ultimately falling in overtime, 5-4, to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (14-7-1-0) on Saturday night at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.

Upstart rookie Rutger McGroarty quickly got the Penguins on the board on their Teddy Bear Toss night as he took a delicate saucer pass from Joona Koppanen and deked to the forehand to tuck it behind Vadim Zherenko just 1:53 into the opening period. 

The T-Birds were able to draw two power play opportunities while trailing 1-0, but the Penguins' penalty kill dispatched both of the Springfield man-up situations. Special teams continued to trend in the home team's direction as the Penguins cashed in on their first power play on a goal by Emil Bemstrom at 16:06 of the frame to give Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 2-0 lead into the intermission.

Filip Larsson was not heavily taxed in Penguins crease in the first, but he came up with the nine saves asked of him to start the night. 

Thanks to their top offensive unit, the T-Birds quelled some of the Penguins' momentum at 5:17 of the second. Aleksanteri Kaskimaki took a drop feed from Leo Loof and whipped it in the low slot to Dalibor Dvorsky. While Larsson slid across to deny the T-Birds' star rookie, the rebound trickled behind the netminder, allowing Marcus Sylvegard to backhand it into the yawning net to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Special teams, though, proved to be Springfield's undoing once again just 3:16 later as Valtteri Puustinen slipped behind the defense on a power play and chipped a backhander past Zherenko to make it a 3-1 Penguins lead.

Late in the period, the Thunderbirds thought they had solved Larsson on a power play scramble in the crease, but after a review, the goal was washed out, and Bemstrom took advantage with just 18 seconds left in the frame, snapping a wrist shot under the crossbar, extending the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lead to 4-1 after 40 minutes.

The T-Birds' leaders rapidly turned the game around as the final period began. Captain Matthew Peca flung a wrister over Larsson's glove just 17 seconds into the period to make it a 4-2 contest. Less than four minutes later, crashing in for a rebound in the slot area, former Penguin Scott Harrington notched his first as a Thunderbird at 4:08 to cut the margin to 4-3. 

Larsson and the Penguins tightened to hold the fort into the game's final two minutes, but a penalty with 2:09 on the clock handed Springfield another power play and a chance to get an equalizer. With Zherenko at the bench for an extra skater, the T-Birds seized the moment as Matt Luff found Kaskimaki in the slot, and the rookie's snapper eluded Larsson to tie the game with 1:56 left. 

The Thunderbirds had another power play chance to close out regulation, but the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton penalty kill shut it down to get the game into the extra period. 

Unfortunately, the T-Birds' magic ran out in the extra session as a penalty gave the Penguins a 4-on-3 power play, and Bemstrom completed his hat trick with a spinning jam shot at 4:27 of the overtime to snap the T-Birds winning streak. Despite coming short of victory, Springfield earned standings points for the 11th time in its last 13 games.

The T-Birds continue their five-game road trip in Charlotte on Tuesday and Wednesday night for back-to-back 7:00 p.m. contests against the Checkers.

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.