Springfield Thunderbirds goaltender Georgi Romanov (31) looks on in a San Jose Sharks game against the Edmonton Oilers at the SAP Center. (Source: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images)The Springfield Thunderbirds beat the Providence Bruins 1-0 after overtime to advance to the Atlantic Division Finals where they will face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Providence outshot Springfield significantly in the first two periods by a margin of 24-13 despite the T-Birds getting three power plays over the Bruins' two. However, both teams went scoreless in the opening 40 minutes.
Things started shifting in favor of Springfield in the third period as while the T-Birds got just six shots in the opening 7:12 minutes, they limited Providence to just two shots. Eventually, the Thunderbirds put up 12 shots, just one less than their first two periods combined. Yet, neither team struck gold, setting up overtime.
Springfield's momentum carried into the extra frame as at the 4:01 mark, forward Dillon Dube flicked a shot from the slot off a pass from Chris Wagner into the goal to send Springfield into the Atlantic Division Finals.
T-Birds goalie Georgi Romanov registered a 37-save shutout.
Providence goalie and AHL All-Star Michael DiPietro made 27 saves off 28 shots for a save percentage of 0.964.