After going 27 shots without a goal, the Springfield Thunderbirds (25-14-5-1) scored three in the second period and two in the third, two coming off the stick of Matthew Peca, leading them to a 5-1 victory over the Providence Bruins (19-13-3-3) Saturday night.
Calle Rosen broke the scoring open with a double-deke shot that he snuck past Bruins’ goaltender Kyle Keyser on a backhand.
Less than two minutes later, took a one-time pass from Sam Anas and slapped it past Keyser for his 16th goal of the season, thanks to a good screen by James Neal – making it 2-0, sending the crowd into a frenzy in the process.
After seven minutes without a goal, Springfield scored again – this time off the stick of Drew Callin who took a pass from Alexei Toropchenko and shot it right away. The first shot was stopped by the Providence netminder, but that didn’t deter Callin as he scooped up the rebound and scored – giving the Thunderbirds a 3-0 lead late in the middle stanza.
“We didn’t let up,” Coach Drew Bannister said. “There wasn’t really any momentum changes for us.”
The first period was a physical one with both sides trading hits back and forth, but neither was able to get under each other’s skin too much, that is until 16:27 into the period, when Hugh McGing got called for holding.
Springfield stood their ground during the Providence man-advantage, however, and didn’t allow a shot on goal – in fact, the Thunderbirds got a few chances in themselves, but could not muster a shot.
At the end of the first period, the T-Birds held an 11-5 advantage.
In the third period, that was when it got physical with both teams combining for 22 penalty minutes in that stanza alone.
The third period, as it turns out was the most productive for the Bruins as they had 13 shots on goal in the final frame – two more than in the first two periods of play combined.
Springfield plays next in a week when they take on the Wilkes-Barrie/Scranton Penguins on the road on Saturday, February 19th.
The Northeast Regional Sports Journal 
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