SPRINGFIELD — Led by Will Bitten’s hat trick, the Springfield Thunderbirds (28-29-3-2) defeated the Syracuse Crunch (35-20-4-2) 6-4 on Saturday night before a sold-out crowd of 6,793 fans inside the MassMutual Center.
The victory helped the T-Birds’ playoff aspirations stay afloat. The team’s message is to play with urgency, considering only ten games remain in the regular season, and Springfield is one point behind Lehigh Valley for the final spot in the Atlantic Division.
“We loved our start compared to last night,” Interim Thunderbirds coach Dan Tkaczuk said. “It was great to play with the lead throughout this game. But unfortunately, we were a little bit too passive down the stretch into the third. (Zhrenko) started to all make some great saves that led us to victory.”
Vadim Zhrenko was sensational, finishing his night by stopping 49 saves on 53 shots in back-to-back starts. Syracuse netminder Hugo Alnefelt took the loss, surrendering six goals on 25 shots.
Fans were treated to a pregame ceremonial puck, which featured Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez, the main leads from the 2004 hit film Napoleon Dynamite. Before the game, the duo was also on the concourse for a meet and greet with the hometeam fans.
Saturday was the T-Birds’ 17th sellout of the season and the team’s 11th consecutive.
Springfield raced onto the ice as they looked to turn the page, as a 2-0 hard-fought Friday night loss against the Charlotte Checkers still lingered. As all signs pointed out, it was evident that a shakeup was necessary. One thing that wasn’t affected was Zhrenko getting the start between the pipes.
Nonetheless, the newly reshuffled Thunderbirds quickly took the early 1-0 lead, and the momentum proved pivotal.
Minutes into the opening frame, Bitten intercepted a loose puck before turning the jets off amidst a breakaway. Bitten then wasted no time racing into the offensive zone before slipping the puck through the pads of Alnefelt, getting the home team on the board at 16:23 remaining in the opening frame.
“Well, (Bitten) started the game off great,” said Tkaczuk after Saturday’s victory, noting how his team got the spark they needed in taking the opening lead. “He has this ability to get behind defenders, and he capitalized on that breakaway. That line with Abramov and Vrana was the keys up front tonight.”
Syracuse didn’t stay down, and the T-Birds slipped when Bitten was whistled for slashing. This dampened Zhrenko’s first-period hot streak, which saw him stop 16 of 17 shots faced.
As the powerplay started to dwindle, Springfield struggled to clear. A loose puck found its way to Felix Robert, who sent it right back, evening the score 1-1 with 3:38 left on the clock. That resulted in Zhrenko’s first blemish.
The Thunderbirds urgently responded as they invaded the offensive zone, feeling the rush of the first period ticking away. Hunter Skinner led the charge as he zipped a pass to Ryan Suzuki, who buried a glove-side wrister, pushing the T-Birds in front 2-1.
Springfield took complete control with a 5-2 lead during the middle frame.
Once the puck broke at center ice, Mikhail Abramov carried the T-Birds into the Syracuse zone. He sent a cross-ice pass to Jakub Vrana, who then skated to the high slot before firing a wrister that zipped into the right side post and rang out of the net, extending the Thunderbirds’ lead 3-1, 30 seconds into the second period.
Syracuse continued to create chances, as Devante Stephens launched a wrister by Zhrenko, diminishing the T-Birds’ lead to 3- 2 with 17:17 left on the clock.
The Thunderbirds didn’t shutter in fear of the Crunch’s attempted comeback. The home team tapped into the energy reserves courtesy of T-Birds powerhouse and fan favorite Sam Bitten, who got both the bench and the Thunderdome faithful re-energized when he exchanged personal greetings before dropping the gloves with Tyson Feist.
“He (Sam Bitten) picked the right time to do it,” Bitten said. “I think it was a 3-2 game at that point. Then I remember we scored two quick ones right afterward. I felt it changed the game right there. And you know, everyone appreciates it. The Thunderdome loves it.
“It was a statement for sure.”
Abramov also scored, earning his second point of the night, and Bitten added his second goal, bringing his season total to 15. The T-Birds had a 5-2 cushion heading into the third period.
Syracuse continued to battle throughout the final 20 minutes of regulation as Ilya Usau jammed one to make it 5-3 at 15:15 left on the clock. The Crunch then laid it all on the line as they pulled their Alenefelt, allowing six on five in favor of the road team.
Cole Koepke took that chance, and the risk paid off, as Springfield’s lead was now cut to one. But Syracuse had all the momentum, which showed: The Thunderbirds only mustered four shots in the third, compared to the Crunch’s 20.
Despite the offensive assault, Bitten closed out Saturday’s 6-4 victory with an empty netter, resulting in the hat trick, to thunderous applause. The Thunderbirds now get some rest before starting a six-game road trip that will begin on March 29 in Hartford.
“Every point is important right now,” said Bitten after Saturday’s victory, acknowledging urgency throughout the locker room. “We need to play these next couple of games like it’s our last game of the year. So it’s going to be a tough task.
“But we feel we can take care of business.”
