You read that correctly, folks...they are not the Springfield Falcons anymore. The Falcons were purchased by the Arizona Coyotes over the summer and relocated to Tucson as the Roadrunners. In response, the Portland Pirates were relocated to Springfield and became the Thunderbirds. So rather than take on the prospects of the Coyotes, the Penguins opened their second weekend of the season by taking on the prospects of the Florida Panthers.
Whereas the Penguins found very little resistance from the Hartford Wolf Pack in their home opener, they found much more resistance from Springfield, as the Thunderbirds came roaring out of the gates to the tune of a 12-8 shot advantage after 20 minutes and a 19-15 advantage after 40 minutes.