Thunderbirds 6, P-Bruins 1: Providence drops regular-season finale

PROVIDENCE — The Providence Bruins closed out the regular season with a 6-1 loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon.

Providence got its lone goal from Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, while goalie Sean Bonar made his P-Bruins debut in the final period.

Providence jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Forsbacka Karlsson's seventh goal of the season with Gemel Smith and Joel Messner assisting.

But that was all the offense the P-Bruins could muster as Springfield quickly answered seconds later when Alex Breton netted a goal at 16:46. Thomas Schemitsch and Adam Rockwood assisted and the first period ended in a 1-1 tie.

The T-birds' Jayce Hawryluk scored 51 seconds into the second period to give Springfield a 2-1 lead. Then the floodgates opened as the Thunderbirds got goals from Dryden Hunt, Breton (again) and Thomas Schemitsch to take a 5-1 lead.

Providence made a goalie change at the start of the third, putting Bonar in for Zane McIntyre. The T-birds' Juho Lammiko tallied a short-handed goal at 13:34 for the game's final score.

McIntyre stopped 15 shots and Bonar stopped four while Springfield’s Chris Driedger stopped 39 shots.

The P-Bruins open postseason play against the Charlotte Checkers in the Atlantic Division semifinals on Saturday night at 7:05.

Springfield;1;4;1;—;6

Providence;1; 0;0;—;1

First period — 1, Pro, Forsbacka Karlsson 7 (Smith, Messner), 16:08. 2, Spr, Breton 2 (Schemitsch, Rockwood), 16:46 (pp). Penalties — Zech Pro (tripping), 6:18; Sherman Pro (tripping), 16:19.

Second period —3, Spr, Hawryluk 8 (Melchiori), 0:51. 4, Spr, Hunt 23 (MacPherson, Pecararo), 2:01. 5, Spr, Breton 3 (Dea, Schemitsch), 9:01 (pp). 6, Spr, Schemitsch 9 (MacDonald, Hawryluk), 19:58. Penalties — Vaakanainen Pro (boarding), 8:28; Hawryluk Spr (hooking), 12:30.

Third period — 7, Spr, Lammikko 6 (Hunt, Schemitsch), 13:34 (sh). Penalties — Bajkov Spr (slashing), 6:31; Smith Pro (slashing), 6:31; Smith Pro (misconduct - abuse of officials), 11:53; Ang Spr (hooking), 13:04; Hunt Spr (slashing), 16:33.

Shots on goal — Spr 6-14-5—25; Pro 17-9-14—40. Power plays — Spr 2- 3; Pro 0-3. Goalies—Spr, Driedger 18-10-2 (40 shots-39 saves). Pro, McIntyre 25-14-7 (20 shots-15 saves); Bonar 0-0-0 (5 shots-4 saves).

A — 10,096.

Referees —Michael Duco (82), Mitch Dunning (43). Linesmen — Daniel Panciocco (36), Todd Whittemore (70).