SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- Playoff hockey is returning to Springfield as the Thunderbirds bring the Calder Cup fight home.

The Thunderbirds are preparing to host the rival Providence Bruins in Game 3 of their second-round matchup at the MassMutual Center. Calder Cup playoff action is returning to Springfield for the first time in over a year. “The games have been very physical. It’s been very tight-checking and it’s, you know, both games have been great hockey games so far,” said Thunderbirds Head Coach Steve Ott.

After winning Game 1 in Providence on Friday, the T-Birds want to close out this best-of-five series against the Bruins at home. They have to handle business on Tuesday first. “We’ve been playing a playoff-style brand of hockey,” Ott added. “You know, tight-checking, hard-checking-for-chance offense-wise and, you know, our detail and structure has been, you know, we’ve seen a lot of great buy-in by our guys…so, you know, you complement that with great goaltending in Game 1. We had a big win,” he said.

During the Calder Cup playoffs, the T-Birds have been benefitting from the play of Russian netminder Georgi Romanov. In the T-Birds last three wins, he posted a 94 percent save percentage on 92 shots faced. Ott wants to reward his goalie’s effort by putting up goals on the other end. “You know, the old traffic shot deflections,” Ott said. “All those hard things in playoff-type atmosphere is what, you know, both teams are looking to do. So, you know, we want to get to their net to have a, you know, solid presence in there and look for some dirty goals.”

After playing their first five playoff games on the road, the team is excited to play in front of their own crowd this postseason. “Well, the boys love playing here. You know, we’ve had great fan support all season long,” Ott said. “To give them a playoff game, not only one, but two now for sure. We want to keep this moving. We know the Thunderdome is always rocking.”

Puck drops at 7:05 p.m. for Games 3 and 4. Tickets are available at the team’s website.