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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Springfield Thunderbirds (30-23-2-4) could not keep the newest Bruin quiet as Providence (33-19-4-3) skated away with a 4-1 win on Sunday afternoon in front of another sellout crowd at the MassMutual Center on CHD Sensory-Friendly Sunday.
The day began with fireworks as Kale Kessy and Joey Abate got both benches on their feet with a fight just two seconds into the action. As a scoreless first progressed, a late post-whistle penalty to the T-Birds set the Bruins up for the game’s first power play. Providence made Springfield pay, as newest Bruin acquisition Fraser Minten chipped a shot over Vadim Zherenko at close range to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 15:20 of the first, a score that held into the intermission.
Minten was far from finished in his first career game against the T-Birds, adding a second goal at 2:29 of the second as he parked himself in the paint and guided a Billy Sweezey shot behind a helpless Zherenko. The rookie then completed a natural hat trick at 9:55 with some crafty hands at the side of the net to chip a puck into the top shelf over an outstretched Zherenko.
The T-Birds finally got a bounce to go their way, literally, at 12:46 when a Dalibor Dvorsky one-timer went off Bruins netminder Michael DiPietro, followed by the end glass. With everyone looking for the falling puck, it eventually careened off DiPietro’s back and over the goal line, giving the T-Birds’ 19-year-old his 19th goal of the season and making it a 3-1 game.
However, Springfield could not build upon their good fortune, as Minten fired another shot that Riley Duran tipped past Zherenko at 18:14 to polish off the rookie’s four-point game and send the game into the third at a 4-1 score.
DiPietro proved too tough to crack in the final period, as each of Springfield’s nine third-period attempts got swallowed up by the AHL’s leading victor in net. DiPietro picked up his 22nd win with 24 stops, while Zherenko was saddled with the defeat following a 25-save afternoon.
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