SPRINGFIELD – Jack Rathbone silenced the Thunderdome with a game-winning overtime wrister Friday night as the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins clipped the Springfield Thunderbirds wings, 3-2.
The Penguins trailed 2-0 heading into the 3rd period, but made their comeback in the final frame to ultimately earn the win. Wilkes-Barre Scranton netminder Magnus Hellberg led the charge with 36 saves on 38 shots, while Springfield’s Malcolm Subban stopped 26 of the 29 faced as he took the loss.
“I didn’t think we deserved to win tonight,” Thunderbirds coach Drew Bannister said. “From the start of the game, it felt we just wanted an easy game, and we weren’t willing to work for it at all.”
The opening frame was a tale of the goalies — both Subban and Hellberg flashed the leather multiple times as the T-Birds had ample chances but couldn’t break through despite recording 18 shots on net.
Momentum swayed in favor of Springfield, as they relied on their forecheck and garnered multiple offensive zone faceoffs. Wilkes-Barre Scranton quickly fell into penalty trouble as Penguins captain Taylor Fedun was called for hooking, and Matt Filipe was signaled for tripping. The T-Birds ended the opening period, though, going 0-2 on the man-advantage.
The Penguins had a prime opportunity to take the opening lead when Fedun stood by the penalty box doors as the seconds ticked away, waiting for his moment. He then found the puck deep into the Thunderbirds’ zone but couldn’t finish, as his shot went wide stick side of Subban into the boards.
“I didn’t like our first period, even though we outshot them (18-6),” said Bannister. “We just looked at their lineup, and noticed they were a few guys short. So we thought it would be an easy night, but it wasn’t.”
Bannister felt that his team “let (the Penguins) off the hook.”
Chances continued to pop up for the T-Birds. During the halfway point of the first period, Will Bitten received a cross-ice pass near the top of the neutral zone. Bitten then entered the offensive zone with the puck glued to his stick. He fired a quick slap-shot, but Hellberg quickly cast it aside with no issue.
The game’s first score transpired during the middle frame when Springfield was deep in the offensive zone. Mackenzie MacEachern maintained the puck behind the Penguins’ net until he fed a cross-ice pass to Matthew Peca, who then located Nathan Walker with forward Rem Pitlick on his tail. Walker transitioned the puck to his forehand as he flicked a quick wrister by on Hellberg, breaking through on the T-Birds’ 23rd shot of the game to take a 1-0. MacEachern and Peca assisted in the play.
Springfield was only warming up from there.
The Thunderbirds earned another power play as Penguins defenseman Will Butcher was called for hooking. Springfield converted on the opportunity as Peca located Walker on the opposite side of the ice. He then sent a quick pass to Walker, who found Dylan Coghlan waiting patiently for the one-timer.
Once it arrived, he sent it right back to Hellberg; the puck then traveled, hitting the skate of Ryan Suzuki, who was credited with the goal, extending Springfield’s lead 2-0 at 11:01 remaining in the 2nd period. It was Suzuki’s first as a T-Bird. Coghlan and Walker assisted in the play.
Halfway through the third period, Wilkes Barre-Scranton mounted a comeback as they scored in the final minutes of regulation.
Springfield’s woes manifested when Matthew Kessel fell victim to a holding call, which Wilkes-Barre Scranton took advantage. Rem Pitlick fired a simple wrister from the point after receiving a cross-ice pass from Alex Nylander, allowing the Penguins to climb back into the game 2-1.
The Penguins didn’t let up as Matt Filpe snuck a backhand wrister right between the pads’, eliminating Springfields’ lead at 5:50 remaining in regulation.
Wilkes-Barre Scranton went on to score and solidify the comeback when Rathbone was fed a quick pass right in the front of the net from Sam Houde. Rathbone drifted away from Subban’s crease as he traversed traffic to the high slot, right at the red dot circle, where he held the puck, skating away and stared at Subban; he then slipped a quick wrister glove side, dampening the Thunderbirds’ spirit as the Penguins raced off the ice to the tune of a 3-2 victory
“I don’t know if I’m going to learn anything,” Bannister said after Friday’s result. “I’m here to win hockey games, and winning hockey games isn’t easy. You have to work for it because no one will hand it to you; this league is too good.” The players are too good. If you think you’re going to walk in and think it’s going to be easy, this is what happens.”
The T-Birds return to the ice on Saturday out on the road to close out this home-and-home series in Wilkes-Barre Scranton. The puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m.
