Colten Ellis made 39 saves and Springfield withstood a third-period barrage to pull out a 2-1 win over Providence in the opener of their Atlantic Division first-round at Amica Mutual Pavilion on Wednesday night.
The Thunderbirds head home for Game 2 with a chance to close out the series on Friday.
Zach Dean and Matt Luff provided the offense for Springfield, which snapped a six-game playoff losing streak with its first postseason win since Game 1 of the 2022 Calder Cup Finals.
Ellis, who was 5-1-0 with a 2.18 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage in six starts against the Bruins during the regular season, held down the fort as Providence owned an 18-2 advantage in shots during the final period and a 40-15 edge for the game.
Oliver Wahlstrom scored the only goal for the Bruins, a power-play marker 3:44 into the second period. Springfield went on to kill off three power plays in the third.
Michael DiPietro, announced earlier in the day as the winner of the Baz Bastien Award as the AHL’s outstanding goaltender for 2024-25, made 13 saves in his Calder Cup Playoffs debut.
(Springfield leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 23 – Springfield 2, PROVIDENCE 1
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 25 – Providence at Springfield, 7:05
*Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 27 – Springfield at Providence, 3:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
