Springfield Thunderbirds

The Springfield Thunderbirds are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League that began play for the 2016–17 season. They are the affiliate of the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues. Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Thunderbirds play their home games at the MassMutual Center.

Springfield Thunderbirds
2019–20 AHL season
City	Springfield, Massachusetts
League	American Hockey League
Conference	Eastern
Division	Atlantic
Founded	1975 (In the NAHL)
Home arena	MassMutual Center
Colors	Red, navy blue, sky blue, white, gold
Owner(s)	Springfield Hockey, LLC.
General manager	Eric Joyce
Head coach	Geordie Kinnear
Captain	Paul Thompson
Media	The Springfield Republican WHYN NewsRadio 560 CBS 3, 22 News ABC 40 AHL.TV (Internet)
Affiliates	St. Louis Blues (NHL)
Franchise history
1975–1982	Erie Blades
1982–1993	Baltimore Skipjacks
1993–2016	Portland Pirates
2016–present	Springfield Thunderbirds

History

In May 2016, following the relocation of the Springfield Falcons to Tucson, Arizona, after the team was sold to the Arizona Coyotes, the AHL's Portland Pirates were sold to a Springfield-based group who intended to relocate the franchise to Springfield for the 2016–17 season.[1][2]

The new owners were a consortium of local business interests seeking to keep hockey in Springfield, and included Paul Picknelly, owner of the Springfield Marriott and member of the family owning Peter Pan Bus Lines, as well as several local hotel owners.[3] A team from Springfield has taken the ice in the AHL and its predecessors for all but seven years since 1926, and in every season since 1954.

The Thunderbirds inherited the Florida Panthers' affiliation with the Pirates. The Panthers assigned their assistant general manager, Eric Joyce, to be Springfield's general manager and named Geordie Kinnear as the new head coach.[4] The Thunderbirds also named Bruce Landon, the Falcons' and Indians' longtime president and general manager, as a consultant, while hiring AHL executive Nathan Costa as their executive vice-president in charge of business operations.[5] The team's new name was announced at a press conference on June 15, 2016. Team management explained that Thunderbirds invokes both the mythological Thunderbird and the United States Air Force presence in the region, such as the Barnes and Westover Air Reserve Bases.[6]

The Thunderbirds played their first game on October 15, 2016, a 4–2 loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Anthony Greco scored the first goal in team history. On October 22, 2016, the Thunderbirds played their home opener, a 5–4 win, against the St. John's IceCaps. Dryden Hunt scored the first goal on home ice, and MacKenzie Weegar scored the game winning goal in overtime in front of a sellout crowd of 6,793. While the inaugural season did not result in a playoff berth, average attendance rose from 3,108 in the Falcons' last season to 4,618 and including three sellouts.

On February 17, 2018, it was announced that the Springfield Thunderbirds and the MassMutual Center would host the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic and Skills contest, to take place on January 27–28, 2019. This marked the first AHL All-Star Game in Springfield since 1959. MGM Springfield served as the host of the event.[7] The Western Conference was victorious in the skills competition, while the Central Division defeated the Atlantic Division in the championship game of the round robin event. Both events were sold out.

On March 6, 2020, the Springfield Thunderbirds announced a five-year affiliation deal with the St. Louis Blues of the NHL starting from the 2020–21 season.[8] The 4 year affiliation with Florida did not result in a single playoff berth for the Thunderbirds. However, players such as Josh Brown, Jayce Hawryluk, Dryden Hunt, Jared McCann, Ian McCoshen, Sam Montembeault, and Mackenzie Weegar developed in Springfield and went on to play with the Panthers. The team has seen attendance rise in each of its 4 seasons.

The market was previously home to:

• Springfield Indians (1926–1994)
• Springfield Falcons (1994–2016)

Season-by-season results

Regular Season											Playoffs
Season	Games	Won	Lost	OTL	SOL	Points	PCT	Goals for	Goals against	Standing	Year	1st round	2nd round	3rd round	Finals
2016–17	76	32	33	9	2	75	.493	197	206	6th, Atlantic	2017	Did not qualify
2017–18	76	32	37	5	2	71	.467	210	233	7th, Atlantic	2018	Did not qualify
2018–19	76	33	29	9	5	80	.526	250	241	7th, Atlantic	2019	Did not qualify
2019–20	61	31	27	3	0	65	.533	190	186	5th, Atlantic	2020	Season cancelled due to COVID-19

Players

Current roster

Updated June 18, 2020.[9]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace	Contract
19		Jake Horton	F	R	25	2018	Oakdale, Minnesota	Thunderbirds
17		Will Lochead	D	L	22	2019	London, Ontario	Thunderbirds
5		Dylan MacPherson	D	R	22	2019	Redcliff, Alberta	Thunderbirds
57		Matt Mangene	D	R	31	2018	Manorville, New York	Thunderbirds
44		Rob O'Gara	D	L	27	2019	Nesconset, New York	Thunderbirds
26		Liam Pecararo	LW	L	24	2019	Canton, Massachusetts	Thunderbirds
11		Adam Rockwood	C	L	24	2019	Coquitlam, British Columbia	Thunderbirds

Team captains

• Brent Regner: 2016–2017
• Paul Thompson: 2018–present

Retired numbers

• #2: Eddie Shore
• #23: Rob Murray

Note: Shore's number was retired by the Springfield Indians, and Murray's by the Springfield Falcons; the Thunderbirds continue to honor both numbers. Former AHL President Jack Butterfield and Vice-President Gordie Anziano, longtime Springfield residents, former Indians general manager and Falcons founder Bruce Landon, and Willie O'Ree, the first African American to play in the AHL, have been honored with banners raised with the retired numbers.

Team records

As of 2019–20 season.[10]

Single season

Goals: Anthony Greco, 30 (2018–19)

Goals by a Rookie: Owen Tippett, 19 (2019-20)

Power Play Goals: Paul Thompson, 9 (2018–19)

Short Handed Goals: Anthony Greco, 6 (2017–18)

Assists: Curtis Valk, 42 (2017–18)

Points: Curtis Valk, 62 (2017–18)

Penalty Minutes: Sena Acolatse, 147 (2016–17)

Appearances by a Goalie: Samuel Montembeault, 41 (2017–18)

GAA: Adam Wilcox 2.02 (2016–17)

SV%: Adam Wilcox (2016–17), Chris Driedger 2019-20, .932

Shutouts: Harri Sateri, 4 (2017–18)

Career

Games: 261 Anthony Greco

Penalty Minutes: 238 Paul Thompson

Goaltending Wins: 31 Samuel Montembeault

Shutouts: 4 Harri Sateri, Sam Montembeault

Goals: 85 Anthony Greco

Assists: 78 Dryden Hunt

Points: 157 Anthony Greco

Power Play Goals: 20 Dryden Hunt

Short Handed Goals: 16 Anthony Greco

References

1. "Portland Pirates to leave Maine and move to Springfield, MA". WCSH. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
2. "American Hockey League Announces Franchise Transaction". OurSports Central. May 23, 2016.
3. "The investors of Springfield's new hockey team revealed". Western Mass News. June 5, 2016.
4. "Kinnear named coach of Florida's AHL affiliate". AHL. June 7, 2016.
5. Pignatello, Jim (June 8, 2016). "Springfield AHL team names city native Nathan Costa as Executive VP; Bruce Landon to serve as consultant". Springfield Republican. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
6. Pignatiello, Jim (June 15, 2016). "Springfield Thunderbirds announced as name, mascot of city's AHL franchise". MassLive.com. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
7. "Springfield Thunderbirds to host 2019 AHL All-Star Classic". masslive.com. February 17, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
8. "Thunderbirds announce new partnership with Blues". American Hockey League. March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
9. "Springfield Thunderbirds Roster". 2020-01-09. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
10. "Springfield Thunderbirds Elite Prospects". Elite Prospects. Retrieved April 14, 2019.

External links

• Springfield Thunderbirds Official Website