SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (22-26-5-2) could not solve a veteran backstop as the Iowa Wild (18-30-4-1) emerged with a 2-0 win on Friday night inside the MassMutual Center.

The Wild were the much quicker team at the onset of play, and veteran Gerry Mayhew gave Iowa the 1-0 lead just 1:58 into the game, lifting a wrister from the right circle up over the shoulder of Vadim Zherenko. 

After the early goal, Zherenko did his part to slam the door, as he was at his best to turn away 12 other Iowa offerings, aiding in killing off two Wild power plays in the process. At the other end, Cal Petersen rebounded from two tough outings against the T-Birds in February, denying nine shots in the first, including a mini-breakaway bid by Hugh McGing.

Zherenko continued to hold up his end of the bargain in a relatively quiet middle period, denying eight more Wild shots, while Petersen got smothering defense from his teammates in facing only seven Springfield shots in the second.

The T-Birds kept their foot on the gas pedal in the third as they put up a dozen shots on goal in the closing 20 minutes, but for a fourth time this season, they were unable to find the back of the net, as Petersen rebounded from two shaky outings against Springfield for a 28-save shutout. Zherenko was saddled with a hard luck defeat, making 25 saves on 26 attempts in defeat. Ryan Sandelin added a second Iowa goal into an empty net at 19:37 of the third to conclude matters.

The T-Birds and Wild reconvene for one final meeting in the season series on Saturday in front of a sold-out Thunderdome for Pink in the Rink Night to benefit the Rays of Hope Foundation.

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).