Good morning!
Last Sunday at the MassMutual Center the Springfield Thunderbirds beat the Charlotte Checkers, 5-2, in front of 6,241 fans at the third annual “Sensory Friendly” game.

“No goal horn, decreased volume on music, consistent lighting and two cool-down stations for sensory friendly activities,” said Greenfield native Todd McDonald, the team’s veep for strategic sales and strategy.

How extraordinary it must’ve been to watch a game without auditory and visual distractions, including strobe lights that can trigger epileptic seizures. Silence is anathema to the marionettes of sports marketing. Rather than letting the game dictate the mood, they strive to keep people as pumped as the Energizer Bunny.

Someday they might try a no-game game; pander to the Jumbotron, cheer when the PA announcer hits 100 decibels, and scream for a T-shirt to get blasted your way. Who needs a game with all that excitement?

Sponsored by the city’s Center for Human Development (CHD) and staffed by Springfield College’s occupational therapy department, “Sensory Friendly” meant fans could leave the earplugs at home and not seek refuge from the amplifiers after a Thunderbirds goal.

One mother glanced at her children and told 22News, “These guys jump at those big sounds.”

“We know it can be a challenge for some to attend games in that type of environment,” said McDonald.

The idea of having a game without all the BS was the result of a conversation Thunderbirds president Nate Costa had with Ben Craft, CHD’s Vice President of Community Engagement. “They saw it in another market and decided to bring it here,” said McDonald.

The Thunderbirds are averaging 6,070 fans a game, top third in the league and better than AHL teams in Providence, Hartford and Bridgeport. Part of the allure was last year’s run to the Calder Cup finals, and part of it’s their steady stream of promotions. Tonight the first 3,000 fans will get a bobblehead replica of goaltender Joel Hofer’s celebratory pose after his empty netter in last year’s playoffs.

Presuming there’s another “Sensory Friendly” game, just call it old-timer’s night.

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Two big upsets in small men’s college hockey happened last weekend when eighth-seeded Williams College shocked top seeded Wesleyan, 4-3, in the NESCAC quarterfinals, and seventh-seeded Bowdoin beat No. 2 seed Trinity, 2-1, in overtime.

The upsets put No. 3 seed Amherst College in the catbird seat thanks to Zachary Murray’s overtime goal that beat Tufts, 3-2, and in the other quarterfinal, Colby beat Hamilton, 3-2, in OT.

The semis and finals are this weekend at Orr Rink. Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for students, seniors and children. Bowdoin (13-9-3) plays Colby (12-10-2) today at noon, followed by Amherst (16-5-4) versus Williams (8-15-2) at 3:30 p.m. The winners meet Sunday and the puck drops at 2 p.m.

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The high cost of watching UConn women’s basketball forced Montague’s Larry Weir and his sister Colleen to forsake the Huskies and re-up with UMass this season. “We had UConn season tickets for 15 years. We enjoyed it. The place is always energized but then they did this thing with the tickets, they raised them by 100 percent, from $350 to $700.”

Consequently, said Weir, they bought UMass season tickets, traveled less and saw the Minutewomen go 12-2 at home. “They had quite a crowd on Sunday,” said Weir, referring to the 3,049 fans who watched Sam Breen and Destiney Philoxy close out their remarkable careers with an 84-61 win against GW. “Tory Verdi’s done quite a job. I’d love to see them give somebody a run for their money in the big tournament.”

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Joe Sarsfield commented on last week’s item about being a 1,000-point scorer at Hinsdale High School. “No special ceremony. I found out about it by reading it in the Greenfield Recorder.”

The headline that Sarsfield saw appeared on Jan. 25, 1972, Hinsdale Star At Magic 1,000.The story was accompanied by a photo of Sarsfield sporting a Beatles-era mop and long sideburns. “We played and lost to Turners Falls that season, 72-69. They had a great team.”

Fran Togneri’s mother dutifully kept her son’s press clippings, and the game story was headlined TF Wins Thriller. “You’ve got to win the close ones to be a contender,” said TFHS coach Paul Cournoyer, whose assistant was the ubiquitous George F. Bush.

In those halcyon days, advertising revenue provided plenty of space for long write-ups, thorough box scores and lists of league leaders. Any player that averaged 10 points or higher made the list. One of them, Frontier’s Gary Sanderson, would become the paper’s sports editor. Staffers before him included Denny Wilkins, Steve Smith, Jim Fox, and Bob York.

Now the Recorder has a pair of staffers responsible for covering school sports throughout Franklin and Hampshire counties. Gripe if you like, but they do their best.

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Forte is the prohibitive 7-5 morning line favorite to win today’s Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park with Irad Ortiz in the saddle. Blazing Sevens trained by Chad Brown with Joel Rosario in the irons is the 7-2 second choice, and Shug McGaughey’s General Jim is the 6-1 third choice under Luis Saez.

Forte appears to be the horse than can add a bed of roses to owner Mike Repole’s victory garden. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the three-year-old son of Violence has won three straight Grade 1 races. The only question is how well he’ll perform after a four month layoff.

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SQUIBBERS: UMass basketball apologists can blame injuries for the team’s shockingly disappointing season, but as CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish pointed out, “UMass is 327th in two-point field goals. You’re not going to beat anybody playing this poorly within the arc.” … Francisco Lindor was miked-up for Wednesday’s game and told the ESPN crew he was pumped for the World Baseball Classic. “Puerto Rico’s going blonde, baby. The whole team.” …. Looks like Manny Machado won’t be coming to the Yankees or Mets, so much for that theory after the Padres gave him an 11-year extension for $350 million. … The oddest game that Tory Verdi’s UMass women’s team played was against Drake when they trailed 83-78 and went on a 22-0 run to win in overtime, 100-83.…The Red Sox are offering SRO passes to every April home game — three apiece against Baltimore and Pittsburgh — for $75. Be sure to dress warmly. … Mets fans were swooning after Ronny Mauricio’s three home runs in seven at-bats. The 22-year-old shortstop was signed out of the DR when he was 16, and has 60 home runs in 1,908 minor league ABs (source: baseball-ref). … CBS Sports’ Tim Doyle on UMass guard RJ Luis: “We’re watching a star in the making (but) now you gotta keep him.” … After watching the Chiefs’ victory parade, NFL podcaster Ross Tucker disparaged Patrick Mahomes for drinking beer “in front of the kids.” OK Ross, but how about all those Labatt Blue mentions you make on your show? … After former Wall Street Journal staffer Michael Gartner saw my Squibbers comment that the three most irritating words in the English language are “I have no idea” he replied, “Out here in Iowa, Chip, those are four words. Once a copy editor always a copy editor.” … Mike McMahon of College Hockey News, recalling the family vacation in Orlando during a cold snap: “They’ve got a million rides and all they wanted to do was see lizards falling out of trees.”

Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached at chipjet715@icloud.com

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