Dillon Dube scored 4:01 into overtime to send the Springfield Thunderbirds to the Atlantic Division finals with a 1-0 victory over the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners Providence Bruins on Thursday night.
With the win, the Thunderbirds pulled off what is statistically the biggest upset in Calder Cup Playoff history, knocking off a Bruins team that had finished 38 points ahead of them in the regular season standings. The Thunderbirds advance to face Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
A Bruins pass in the neutral zone was intercepted by a defender Marc-André Gaudet at the Springfield blue line, and Gaudet sent the puck back up the left wing Otto Stenberg the progressive rapidity of three and two.
Stenberg hit a seam and served Chris Wagner,Wagner found Dube cutting into the net, Dube scored Michael DiPietro for his second goal and fifth point of the series.
George Romanov (5-1), who had 37 shutout saves for Springfield, had a 1.47 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage in four games against Providence.
St. Louis Blues’ last two picks of the first round – defenseman Adam Jiříček (16th overall in 2024) and beyond Justin Carbonneau (19th overall in 2025) – both made their AHL debuts for the Thunderbirds in this game.
DiPietro (1-3) stopped 27 shots for the Bruins, who have lost their last eight playoff series since reaching the Eastern Conference finals in 2017.
(Springfield wins series, 3-1)
Game 1 – Friday, May 1 – Springfield 3, PROVIDENCE 2
Game 2 – Sun., May 3 – PROVIDENCE 2, Springfield 1
Game 3 – Tue., May 5 – SPRINGFIELD 3, Providence 2 (OT)
Game 4 – Thursday, May 7 – SPRINGFIELD 1, Providence 0 (OT)
