A night to remember for the Bitten brothers as the T-Birds dominate against Utica.
Story By: Matthew Wiernasz
Photo Courtesy of the Springfield Thunderbirds
SPRINGFIELD, MA- It was a night to remember for Sam and Will Bitten. Will scored two goals and received two assists and Sam collected his first AHL point with an assist as the Thunderbirds defeated the Utica Comets 7-0 on Hockey Fights Cancer Night last Saturday night at the MassMutual Center. Thunderbirds goaltender Vadim Zherenko would earn his first ever AHL shutout with 33 saves.
Will and Sam Bitten’s cousin Martin Piche passed away from brain cancer in 2021.
The Thunderbirds got on the board as they were on the penalty kill. Nathan Walker was able to find Thunderbirds captain Matthew Peca. Peca took the one-timer and beat Comets goaltender Issac Poulter to make it 1-0 with 6:44 remaining in the first period.
The Thunderbirds would continue to dominate in the second period. Matt Kessel took the shot and Poulter made the save. Mackenzie MacEachern was able to extend the lead for the Thunderbirds on the rebound to make it 2-0 with 10:00 remaining in the second period. The Thunderbird’s power play would go to work as Will Bitten took the snapshot. Mikhail Abramov would put in the rebound with the snap shot and beat Poulter with 6:32 remaining in the second period to make it 3-0.
The tempers would start to flare late in the second period as Comets forward Kyle Criscuolo took down Thunderbirds defenseman Joey Duzak. Thunderbirds defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk would stick up for his teammate and drop the gloves with Criscuolo with 2:30 remaining in the second period. The tempers would continue to flare in the final seconds of the second period as Matthew Peca received a penalty for cross-checking. There would be a scrum near the penalty boxes as Thunderbirds forward Adam Gaudette and Comets defenseman Cal Foote would drop the gloves. Both players would receive fighting majors.
The Thunderbirds would go on to score four goals in the third period. Zach Dean would score his first professional AHL goal on a 2-on-1 rush as he beat Poulter from the left side to make it 4-0 with 15:51 remaining in regulation. Thunderbirds forward Zachary Bolduc would extend the lead for the Thunderbirds and score the team’s second power-play goal of the evening as he took the wrist shot and beat Poulter stick side with 10:06 remaining in regulation to 5-0.
Will Bitten would score his first goal of the night as he got around a Comets defender faked a slap shot went five-hole and beat Poulter with 7:02 remaining in regulation to make it 6-0.
Will would then score his second goal of the evening as he tipped in a shot from Dylan Coghlan with 2:53 remaining in regulation to make it 6-0. Will’s brother Sam received the secondary assist on Will’s goal and his first AHL point. The Thunderbirds also scored their third power-play goal of the game.
The Thunderbirds would conclude their five-game homestand when they host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins tonight at the MassMutual Center as part of a home-and-home series with the Pens. The drop of the puck is at 7:05 p.m. The T-Birds will then travel to Wilkes-Barre to take on the Pens on Saturday night.