SPRINGFIELD – History was made at the MassMutual Center on Saturday night.
Michael Buchinger scored his first career professional goal, and Matthew Peca recorded multiple assists in becoming the Thunderbirds’ all-time points leader with 159.
And behind those moments, Springfield (14-15-2-1) earned an impressive 6-4 win against the Providence Bruins (18-13-3-1) in front of a sellout crowd of 6,793 fans during the team’s annual Throwback Night.
“There’s nothing better than helping with a team accomplishment,” Peca said. “This accomplishment means a lot to me because I’ve planted myself here, and I want to remain here in the organization. And I couldn’t be happier that it happened here because there was nowhere else I would rather be.”
Saturday marked the Thunderbirds’ first game in eight days. It didn’t take the home team long to get back into the rhythm, as Corey Schueneman connected with Dylan Peterson to avoid numerous defenders behind the blue line. The rest was history, as Peterson located a top-shelf wrister for his third goal in four games against the Bruins.
But the fun wasn’t complete, as Matt Luff crossed into the opposing zone with the defense focused on the right-winger. In response, Luff dropped a backdoor pass to Schueneman, who doubled the Thunderbirds’ cushion to 2-0 with a stick-side missile from the slot during the ninth minute of action.
The goal marked Schueneman’s second evening point, while Matthew Peca and Luff earned their ninth and 13th helpers. After the outcome, Providence coach Ryan Mougenel replaced starting netminder Brandon Bussi (four saves) with Michael DiPietro (16 saves).
“I loved our start, and I think we had good practices all week,” Schueneman said. “Some of those days off helped because that allowed our energy to reset.”
That insurance goal remained essential for the opposition, as Thunderbirds goalie Colten Ellis countered with two of his game-high 24 saves against Riley Duran to maintain Springfield’s two-goal cushion over Providence halfway through the first.
“Ellis has been rock solid for us all year,” Schueneman said. “It’s great having him there because he’s a rock. He also moves the puck well, calms things down for us a lot, and I thought he had another great night.”
Springfield remained ahead through 20 minutes of action, as the home team also outshot Providence 10-5. The Bruins, meanwhile, went 0-for-1 on the game’s first power-play attempt.
Providence didn’t remain scoreless for long, as Mason Millman controlled Riley Tufte’s pass along the board. With no defenders near, Millman unleashed a shot from the point that was ultimately redirected home by Fabian Lysell between multiple defenders to cut the Bruins’ deficit in half with 17:06 left in the second period.
The comeback attempt wasn’t over.
As Ellis failed to clear the puck around the corner, Brett Harrison intercepted the pass, maneuvered through multiple defensemen, and then finished with an impressive unassisted deke outside the crease for his second goal to help Providence even the score at 2-2 through 31 minutes of action.
“There really wasn’t a message after those plays,” Thunderbirds coach Steve Konowalchuk said. “I reminded the guys to keep playing because it’s a battle. Our leadership did a good job of getting us back on a competitive edge. As the coach, it’s important to remind everyone to stick to their game plan and the principle.
“In those moments, you can’t start forcing things and thinking you must do too much. It’s all about playing basic hockey by moving the puck, skating, forechecking, and not getting away from what got you the lead in the first place.”
But the opposing momentum was shortlived, as Matthew Poitras was called for slashing to ensure Springfield its second power-play attempt. Despite multiple scoring opportunities for the Thunderbirds, both teams remained stalemated.
With fewer than one minute left in the second period, Springfield remained determined as they maintained possession. And that optimism prevailed as Buchinger regained control below the blue line. The 20-year-old spun, planted his feet, and then sent home a wrister through traffic to move Springfield ahead for good as both teams entered the second intermission.
Despite being outshot 12-9 during the second, the Thunderbirds maintained a one-goal lead through 40 minutes of action. Both teams were also 0-for-3 on their power-play attempts.
But that statistic changed during the opening minutes of the final period, as Peca connected with their team’s lone AHL All-Star representative, Dalibor Dvorsky, for his 12th goal to momentarily double Springfield’s cushion. Saturday ended Dvorsky’s four-game absence as the 19-year-old returned from representing Slovakia in the World Junior Championships.
“We knew we were going to miss Dvorsky because he’s a great player,” Schueneman said. “He’s also a great guy and key to our team. But then he comes back and doesn’t miss a stride. He popped right in and picked up where he left off.”
Once again, though, the momentum was shortlived as Patrick Brown helped Providence make it a one-goal deficit on the power play with 10:36 left in regulation. The goal was Brown’s ninth of the season, while Georgii Merkulov and Poitras earned their 22nd and 12th assists to ensure both teams finished 2-for-5 on the power play.
Though both teams traded back-to-back goals during the final minutes of action, Hunter Skinner scored an empty-net goal during the closing seconds to ensure the Thunderbirds came away victorious. Ellis recorded the lone assist on Skinner’s fourth goal.
Springfield will conclude its weekend on the road against another rival. They will compete in their seventh-season matchup against Hartford at the XL Center on Sunday at 5 p.m.
“We have to build on tonight,” Schueneman said. “I thought we got back to our standards and worked a lot harder than we have in the past. It will be key for our team to continue working hard and building upon tonight.”
