SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Springfield Thunderbirds (13-15-2-1) felt the brunt of the top team in the North Division as the Rochester Americans (20-9-3-0) skated away 5-2 winners on Friday night inside the MassMutual Center.

The opening minutes would not go auspiciously for the T-Birds, as the North Division's top team flexed their offensive muscle early. Just 3:02 into the action, rookie Riley Fiddler-Schultz used a defender as a screen and ripped a wrister through Vadim Zherenko's blocker arm to give Rochester a 1-0 advantage.

Things got no better for Springfield at 6:13 as Graham Slaggert threw a shot on goal from the right circle, generating a Zherenko rebound and a second-chance finish from Brendan Warren to extend the lead to 2-0.

Unlike Tuesday night, though, the T-Birds offense had a rebuttal, and just 2:45 after Warren's tally, Drew Callin took a feed at the offensive line from Simon Robertsson and bull-rushed the net from the right wing before deking to the backhand and beating Devon Levi to cut the lead in half, 2-1. 

Both teams were liberal with their shooting opportunities in the opening 20 minutes, as each club launched 16 attempts at the opposition net. 

Rochester's potent offense did not let off the throttle in the middle stanza. On their second power play in the frame, Brett Murray deflected home his league-leading ninth man-advantage tally to make it a 3-1 score at 6:28. Fiddler-Schultz piggybacked that goal with his second of the game at 7:36, which spelled the end of the night for Zherenko. Colten Ellis came on in relief and stopped the next seven Amerks' shots to close the period.

The 4-1 score held into the dying minutes of the third before a Tanner Dickinson power play marker got Springfield back within two, 4-2, with 5:01 remaining. That's as close as the T-Birds would get, though, as Lukas Rousek ended the goal-scoring with an empty-netter just over a minute later. 

The T-Birds conclude their five-game homestand next Saturday when they host the Providence Bruins at 7:05 p.m. on Jan. 11 for the annual Throwback Night contest. 

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