Akil Thomas scored 13:44 into overtime as Springfield evened the Atlantic Division finals at one game apiece with a 4-3 win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Thursday night.
Down 3-0 through 40 minutes after having been shut out in Game 1, the Thunderbirds stunned the Penguins with three third-period goals, the last two by Dillon Dube coming in the final 3:24 of regulation with goaltender Georgii Romanov pulled for an extra skater.
Then in overtime, Aleksanteri Kaskimäki raced down the left wing and found Thomas cutting down the middle. Thomas was tripped up by Harrison Brunicke from behind and the puck went wide, caromed off the end boards and ricocheted off a sliding Thomas and into the net.
Hugh McGing began the comeback with a shorthanded goal 55 seconds into the third period, ending the shutout streak of Penguins netminder Sergei Murashov at 139 minutes and 41 seconds.
Calle Rosén tallied three assists, and Romanov (6-2) finished with 39 saves as Springfield improved to 4-0 in overtime games this postseason.
Bill Zonnon, who scored in his pro debut in Game 1, found the net for the second game in a row for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Tristan Broz and Avery Hayes also scored, and Mikhail Ilyin tallied two assists.
Murashov (4-2) stopped 41 shots on the night.
(Series tied, 1-1)
Game 1 – Tue., May 12 – W-B/SCRANTON 2, Springfield 0
Game 2 – Thu., May 14 – Springfield 4, W-B/Scranton 3 (OT)
Game 3 – Tue., May 19 – W-B/Scranton at Springfield, 7:05
Game 4 – Thu., May 21 – W-B/Scranton at Springfield, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sat., May 23 – Springfield at W-B/Scranton, 6:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
