SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Springfield Thunderbirds don’t normally take to the ice before noon, but Wednesday’s game was played at a special time at the Mass Mutual Center for an audience of Springfield school children.

The Thunderbirds and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms faced off before a crowd of 4500 Springfield children from third grade to high school. The game began at 10:30 this morning to accommodate the student’s schedule.

Thunderbirds President Nathan Costa told 22News, “A lot of these kids from the Springfield public schools don’t have a chance to come to the Mass Mutual Center. , So not only are we putting on a game for them early in the morning, we made it educational. They’re following along on a work book and it’s really an educational day, trying to use the sport to give back a little bit.”

The team’s performance could go a long way towards recruiting a new generation of fans for the future.

The Thunderbirds outscored Lehigh Valley 2-1 for Springfield’s fifth straight victory at home, tieing the franchise record.