Ice Hockey team
Springfield Thunderbirds
Club · United States · AHL
«T-Birds»
The MassMutual Center, called the Springfield Civic Center before its renaming, seats 6,793 for hockey. Springfield Hockey, LLC brought the Portland Pirates franchise into this building when it bought the team and moved it to Massachusetts. The Thunderbirds were announced on 15 June 2016 and played their first AHL season in 2016-17.
The name looks in two directions. It honours the city's earlier teams, the Falcons and the Indians. It also draws on the mythological Thunderbird and on the Air Force presence at Barnes and Westover Air Reserve Bases. Fans shorten it to T-Birds. MacKenzie Weegar and Jared McCann were on that first roster, in 2016-17.
The fixture with a real edge is the I-91 Rivalry. It is named after the interstate that joins Springfield to Hartford, where the Wolf Pack, the New York Rangers' AHL affiliate, play.
The best season so far was 2021-22. Springfield beat the Laval Rocket 4-3 in the Eastern Conference Finals and took the Richard F. Canning Trophy. The Calder Cup Finals went to Chicago. The Wolves won the series 4-1.
The Thunderbirds are now the St. Louis Blues' AHL affiliate, having previously been tied to the Florida Panthers. They have not won the Calder Cup.
Latest results
Fixtures and results| 11 Oct | AHL |
Charlotte Checkers
H
|
1:2 | L |
| 10 Oct | AHL |
Laval Rocket
H
|
2:5 | L |
| 4 Oct | AHL |
Providence Bruins
A
|
2:0 | W |
| 3 Oct | AHL |
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
A
|
3:2 | W |
| 23 May | AHL |
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
A
|
1:8 | L |
| 22 May | AHL |
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
H
|
2:0 | W |
Standing
AHLGroup stage · Atlantic Division
| # | Team | M | W | L | Goals | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Hershey Bears
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 13:9 | 0 |
| 2 |
 Hartford Wolf Pack
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 13:16 | 0 |
| 3 |
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
|
4 | 2 | 2 | 17:9 | 0 |
| 4 |
 Springfield Thunderbirds
|
4 | 2 | 2 | 8:9 | 0 |
| 5 |
Charlotte Checkers
|
4 | 2 | 2 | 11:12 | 0 |
| 6 |
Providence Bruins
|
5 | 1 | 4 | 9:14 | 0 |
| 7 |
 Lehigh Valley Phantoms
|
3 | 0 | 3 | 8:15 | 0 |
Team statistics
matches counted in total: 406| Metric | Total | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 406 | 204 | 202 |
| Scored | 1216 | 637 | 579 |
| Conceded | 1276 | 595 | 681 |
| Scored per game | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.9 |
| Conceded per game | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.4 |
| Difference | −60 | +42 | −102 |
Fixtures of Springfield Thunderbirds
-
17 Oct · 00:05
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
H
AHL
-
17 Oct · 23:05
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
H
AHL
-
24 Oct · 00:00
Charlotte Checkers
A
AHL
-
24 Oct · 23:00
Charlotte Checkers
A
AHL
-
11 Oct
Charlotte Checkers
H
1:2
L
-
10 Oct
Laval Rocket
H
2:5
L
-
4 Oct
Providence Bruins
A
2:0
W
-
3 Oct
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
A
3:2
W
-
23 May
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
A
1:8
L
-
22 May
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
H
2:0
W
-
20 May
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
H
1:2
L
-
15 May
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
A
4:3
W
Honours of Springfield Thunderbirds
- Eastern Conference Championship 2022 1