The Pics struck down the Thunder Thursday afternoon 5 - 3 in front of a faithful crowd in Hampden, CT. 

Nico Rodrigues opened up the scoring in the waining minutes of the game while the Pics just got on the shorthand when he and Owen Stacey went on a 2 on 1 breakaway in which Stacey fed Rodrigues the pass, and toe-dragged it causing Thunder goalie Owen Przbylo to pause which gave Rodrigues the ability to put the puck top shelf. Cam Gaylor was credited with the secondary assist.

 Rodrigues lit the lamp again in the opening minutes of the second period when he got the feed again from his line-mate Stacey as he crashed the net with Stacey going down the left wing. Nick Foster got the secondary assist.
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Timofey Basarab made it 3 - 0 just a few second later when he was able to break clean away from the defense and went one on one along the left wing and was able to shoot a lightning of a shot past Przybylo.

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Oliver Cookson got what ended up to be the game-winning-goal just past the half way mark in regulation on the power-play when he was able to poke it home after a small rebound in front of the net. Basarab and O'Brien got credited with the assists.

Moorhouse got the insurance goal exactly two minutes later when Perino got the dish from Stacey and tried shooting it in. Moorhouse got the rebound and was able to stuff it in to seal the deal.

Twin City tried getting back in it scoring two unanswered goals, but couldn't swing the momentum their way.

Veteran Pics goaltender Matthew Jonas stopped 28 out of 31 shots in the win, while Thunder goalie Owen Przybylo stopped 43 out of 48 shots for the loss.

The Pics next regularly scheduled opponent are the New Hampshire Monarchs on Thursday, October 22nd, but is subject to change. If that game is postponed, the Pics will then face the Connecticut Junior Rangers on Friday, October 23rd at 1pm.

The Springfield Pics meet the Twin City Thunder for the first time this season at noon at the Louis Astorino Arena. The Pics are 3-0-1 on the season so far, while the Thunder are 3-0 on the season in a 9 team division.

The Springfield Pics are currently ranked 12th on the Power Play, 4th on the Penalty Kill. The Thunder meanwhile are ranked 19th on the Power Play, and 41st on the Penalty Kill.

In the last five years the Pics have defeated the Thunder three times.

The Pics next game is against the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs, Thursday the 22nd at noon, at the Tri-Town Ice Arena.

Chris Foster and Zack Fox contributed a combined seven points on the weekend to defeat the Utica Junior Comets 3 - 1 on Saturday, and 2 - 0 on Sunday.

Jason Shafer of the Comets struck first in Saturday's game just one minute into the game, but that was the only goal that the Comets scored as the Pics then put up 3 unanswered goals.

Zack Fox scored the equalizer just under 8 minutes later when he picked up a feed from Foster and Hanrahan. 
Foster then got the game winning goal with just 23 seconds remaining in the 2nd period on the power play as Payton Kimball was called for roughing.

Foster then got the insurance goal with under 30 seconds remaining when he got the feed from Fox and Hanrahan. 

Fox the continued his magic the following night when he lit the lamp twice in the 1st period. With assists from Foster, Disanti and Hanrahan. Fox's 2nd goal of the night was the hightlight reel of the night, as he went top shelf.

The goaltending duo of Ray Picard and Jonny Hanscom stopped a jaw-dropping amount of 96 shots on the weekend, with Picard stopping 60 out of 61 shots, and Hanscom stopping all 34 shots that faced him.

The Pics will then face USPHL newcomer Boston Advantage on Saturday night. Time to be announced later in the week.

The Premier squad went 3 - 1 at the showcase, defeating the Jersey Hitmen twice, and the Utica Jr. Comets once, falling to them 5 - 4 today in OT.

The Springfield Pics open their league schedule this weekend with the Premier’s away from the friendly confines of the Olympia, while the Elite, U16, and U15 open up their home end of their season.

PREMIER

The Premier squad open their season with four games over an extended weekend. They will be facing the Jersey Hitmen and the Utica Jr Comets twice. They will be facing the Hitmen twice on Saturday, once on 3:50pm and again at 9:00pm. They will then face the Comets on Sunday at 10:40am, and again on Monday at 10:30am.
The last time these teams met, the Pics beat the Hitmen 4 – 1 on November 16th, and the Pics and the Comets split their series, with the Pics on the winning end 4 – 3 on September 21st, and on the opposite end with a 3 – 2 loss on February 14th.
The Pics then travel to the Hollydell Ice arena, home of the Skipjacks on October 9th, then back up to Bridgewater for another showcase against the Rockets Hockey Club, The New York Aviators, and the P.A.L. Junior Islanders.
Rob Bonneau, when asked about this coming series was quoted at saying “We are looking forward to getting back to league play. We had an excellent training camp and look to get off to a good start as the division will be extremely competitive all season, and every game will be important.”

ELITE

The Elite squad has a lone game against the Islanders Hockey Club on Saturday at 8:20pm, with Pics broadcaster Eric Richardson having the call. The Islanders elected not to field an Elite team last season. The Islanders have already played 3 games so far, being victorious in all of them.
“We are fortunate that the league is letting us move forward with the season. We are looking forward to our first league game Saturday against a new IHC team which I expect to be just as skilled as our upcoming opponents. We have a mix of veterans, players who have moved up in the organization, as well as newcomers. The Elite team this year is a skilled squad, and anticipates getting back to Nationals, and hope to begin the run on Saturday”, Elite Head Coach Chris Beaudoin was quoted saying when inquired about this upcoming game and season.

U16

The Pics begin the home end of their season on Saturday and Sunday against the visiting Utica Junior Comets at 8:45 pm on Saturday and 5:30pm on Sunday. The Pics and the Comets did not face each other last season.

U15

The Pics face the visiting Utica Comets, as they go to battle on Saturday and Sunday. 8:05pm on Saturday and 3:30pm on Sunday. The Comets were successful all three times last season they faced the Pics. When asked about this coming series against Utica, Head Coach Vern Smith was quoted saying “We’ve got a real challenge ahead of us with a skilled Utica team. We will be forced to up the tempo of our game. We have a number of new faces, so it will be a test for many of our players.”

The Springfield Pics, proud members of the USPHL, proudly announce the college commitment of Casey Sturgeon to Post University, joining Pics alumni John Arcisewski.