SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Springfield Thunderbirds (3-7-0-0) and Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-3-1-1) combined for 88 penalty minutes Saturday night at MassMutual Center. When the dust settled, the Phantoms came away with a 5-2 victory.

Before the opening coin toss even took place, there were indications of fireworks as Springfield bruiser Sam Bitten and Lehigh Valley captain Garrett Wilson exchanged pleasantries, which which led to both players being separated by officials. Yet the inevitable clash between the two henchmen occurred just 21 seconds into the game, as the two fighters traded fists in the neutral zone and increased the noise level from the benches and crowd .

Two subsequent brawls followed the Bitten/Wilson tangle as Hunter Skinner took on rookie Hunter McDonald, and Marcus Sylvegard got the chance to drop his gloves for his first AHL fight against JR Avon. The three simultaneous sets of major fights occurred in the first 7:49 of the period.

Throughout it all, both teams had numerous chances to earn a scoreless draw, but the starting goalkeepers remained calm in the face of the chaos around them. Colten Ellis made 16 first-half saves in the Springfield net, while Eetu Makiniemi turned away 10 Springfield offerings in the first 20 minutes.

Both teams left power play chances on the table in the first half of the period, but in the final minutes Lehigh Valley went 5-for-3 on two consecutive high-stick minors against Springfield. Jacob Gaucher finally opened the scoring with just 48 seconds left in the game, firing a rebound through Ellis’ legs just outside the end zone.

Gaucher added to his total just 38 seconds into the middle period. Moments after the T-Birds had a power play, the puck was fortuitously kicked off Gaucher’s stick in the slot, and he cut a backhand past Ellis to give the Phantoms a 2- 0.

2:59 later, Lehigh Valley’s power play continued its early season surge as Samu Tuomaala drilled a punch through traffic on the left side and got past Ellis for a 3-up lead -0 to visitors.

Springfield’s power play entered the night with just two power play goals in its first nine games, but the power play found its rhythm late in the second when Drew Callin cleaned up a rebound from Nikita Alexandrov in the blue paint to make it a 3-1 game with 5:04 left in the frame.

Unfortunately, the momentum didn’t carry over into the third. Gaucher completed his hat trick just 6:33 into the final period, recovering a centering pass after a misplay behind the Springfield net and making the score 4-1.

Dalibor Dvorsky continued his torrid run with a goal in his third straight game, scoring Springfield’s second goal on the power play at 8:14 of the third period, cutting the lead to 4-2.

This would be as close as the T-Birds could make it, and Anthony Richard capped the scoring with a breakaway goal at 12:56 to complete the scoring.

The T-Birds finish their home trip Wednesday morning for the annual school day game against the Bridgeport Islanders. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. for the second meeting between the rivals.