SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Thunderbirds (30-22-2-4) fell victim to another second-half push from the Syracuse Crunch (27-19-8-4), falling 8-3 on Saturday night inside a sold-out MassMutual Center.
For a second straight night, former T-Bird Logan Brown began the night’s festivities for the Crunch, cashing in on a loose puck off the end boards and banking it off Colten Ellis at 4:06 of the first to give Syracuse the 1-0 advantage.
Unlike an evening ago, Springfield retaliated quickly. Matt Luff created a screen in front of Brandon Halverson and deflected a Nikita Alexandrov shot past the Crunch goalie to tie the game at 6:21.
The goal was Luff’s 20th of the season and 18th as a member of the T-Birds.
Operating on a power play less than two minutes later, Alexandrov got Springfield in front as he cashed in on a cross-rink pass from Dalibor Dvorsky at 8:06, and for the first time in two games against the Crunch, the T-Birds had the advantage, 2-1.
As would become a theme of the weekend, though, the Crunch had a response of their own as Declan Carlile crept up into the play from the blue line and punched a shot through a defender and past Ellis at 18:55, sending the game to intermission in a 2-2 tie.
Tanner Dickinson broke that tie for Springfield at 2:04 into the second, following MacKenzie MacEachern’s heads-up interception in the middle of the zone to send Dickinson to the net front alone.
The rookie’s fifth of the season restored the Springfield lead to 3-2.
The game’s tide completely changed at 13:30, as former T-Bird Anthony Angello drove the puck into the blue paint from the left-wing corner, creating space for Joel Teasdale to score on a second chance and tie the game.
Following the goal, multiple altercations broke out, and when the dust settled, Syracuse went to a man advantage.
With a chance to step on the T-Birds’ necks, the Crunch took advantage of the opportunity as former UMass star Conor Sheary laced a one-timer through Ellis at 14:45 to give the visitors a 4-3 lead.
Jack Finley added another tally from Sheary with just 5.4 seconds left in the period, raising the lead to 5-3 heading into the third.
The Crunch completely nullified the T-Birds’ offensive efforts in the third, and they added three more tallies in the process from Max Crozier, Gabrial Szturc, and Tobie Bisson down the stretch to complete a prolific offensive weekend against Springfield.
With the Hartford Wolf Pack also winning on Saturday, the T-Birds’ magic number to clinch a Calder Cup playoff berth remains at 14 heading into the final game of Springfield’s three-game weekend on Sunday against Providence.
Puck drop on sensory-friendly Sunday is set for 3:05 p.m. inside the Thunderdome.
