Springfield Thunderbirds goaltender Georgi Romanov was designated Player of the Game for his 20-Save shutout in Game Four of the Atlantic Division Finals. (Source: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images)The Springfield Thunderbirds beat the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 2-0 to force Game Five in the Atlantic Division Finals.
While the first period was uneventful with no power plays, Springfield did outshoot Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 13-7. No goals were scored although there was an initial goal at the 6:07 mark by Pens defenseman Harrison Brunicke but teammate forward Gabe Klassen accidentally pulled T-Birds goalie Georgi Romanov's left leg preventing Romanov from making the save. After a short review, the goal was taken off the board.
In the second period, the Thunderbirds outshot the Penguins 7-2 for the first 16:14 minutes where Wilkes-Barre/Scranton put up two unsuccessful shots in two power plays. In Springfield's one and only man-advantage in that time, the T-Birds scored the game-opening and game-winning power play goal courtesy of forward Dillon Dube at the 16:14 mark. The Pens put up four shots in the remainder of the frame but could not score an equalizer going into the final period.
Springfield had a stranglehold of Game Four as they outshot Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 10-2 for the first 15:02 minutes of the period, eventually producing an insurance goal from defenseman Marc-Andre Gaudet at the 6:48 mark to go up 2-0. The Pens outshot the T-Birds 5-2 for the remainder of the game but Romanov was solid with a 20-save shutout.
Penguins goalie and AHL All-Star Sergei Murashov made 30 saves off 32 shots for a save percentage of 0.938.