Springfield rallies from 3-0 down to stun Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in OT

Springfield did more than steal Game 2. It ripped the emotional center out of the Atlantic Division finals, erasing a three-goal deficit and beating Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4-3 in overtime to level the series at 1-1 and leave the 101-point Penguins wondering how a 3-0 lead vanished on their home ice.

The Thunderbirds looked buried after two periods, still scoreless after being blanked in Game 1 and facing a goaltender in Sergei Murashov who had not been easy to crack. Then the third period turned into a sprint. Hugh McGing broke the seal 55 seconds in with a shorthanded goal, ending Murashov’s shutout streak at 139 minutes and 41 seconds and giving Springfield the first jolt it needed. Calle Rosén was right in the middle of the turnaround, finishing with three assists and helping drive a pace that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton never fully handled once the game opened up.

Dillon Dube finished the comeback himself. With Georgii Romanov pulled for the extra attacker, Dube scored twice in the final 3:24 of regulation, first cutting the deficit and then tying the game to force overtime. Romanov, who made 39 saves, had already kept Springfield close long enough for the rally to become possible. Springfield’s 4-0 record in overtime games this postseason now looks less like a small sample and more like a trait: when the games tighten, the Thunderbirds keep finding the answer.

The overtime finish fit the chaos of the night. Aleksanteri Kaskimäki carried the puck down the left side and found Akil Thomas cutting through the middle, where Thomas was tripped from behind. The puck kicked wide, bounced off the end boards, then caromed off Thomas and into the net at 13:44 of the extra period. It was the kind of ending that can tilt an entire series, especially after Springfield had already shown in its upset of Providence that it can survive pressure and drag a favorite into uncomfortable territory.

For Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the loss was not just about surrendering a lead. Bill Zonnon scored for the second straight game, while Tristan Broz, Avery Hayes and Mikhail Ilyin added offense, but the Penguins never recovered once Springfield attacked the third period with urgency and speed. Game 3 shifted to Springfield on Tuesday, May 19, and after this collapse the psychological edge clearly belongs to the Thunderbirds. The Penguins have the points and the pedigree, but Springfield has already shown it can make a series bend on the road and keep pushing until the favorite cracks.