SPRINGFIELD - The Springfield Thunderbirds (2-4-0-0) could muster only one tally against a pair of goaltender in a hard-fought 2-1 loss on Friday night to the Grand Rapids Griffins (4-1-0-0) inside the MassMutual Center. The T-Birds got to the scoresheet first at the 6:14 mark of the opening period thanks to a fortuitous bounce as a Corey Schueneman shot ricocheted off the end glass and arced into the blue paint. After Griffins goalie Ville Husso turned aside his initial shot, T-Birds captain Matthew Peca swatted home the second effort and gave his team the 1-0 advantage on his first tally this season.
The T-Birds got into penalty trouble over the next 30 minutes of play, as Grand Rapids went to five separate man-advantage opportunities. T-Birds netminder Colten Ellis and the penalty kill were up to the challenge on the first four, but Nate Danielson finally connected for his first pro goal at 16:46 of the second, getting the Griffins even and providing some momentum for the visitors heading into the third. At the other end of the ice, another storyline developed when Husso left the game 6:09 into the middle period.
2021 Detroit first-round pick Sebastian Cossa came on in relief and immediately shined, turning away point-blank chances from both Nikita Alexandrov and Peca in back-to-back fashion. The 1-1 tie held until the 5:30 mark of the final period, when a turnover in the defensive zone put Springfield up against an outnumbered attack. Alex Doucet weaved to the bottom of t.