FLAMES DO THE MONSTER MASH

Cleveland, OH – The Adirondack Flames had a pre-historic smash as they defeated the Lake Erie Monsters by a score of 4-2 on Friday evening at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. The victory gave the Flames their fourth straight win, the longest winning streak in franchise history.

Ben Hanowski recorded the first hat trick of his professional career, as he scored three of Adirondack’s four goals. Bill Arnold also had a goal of his own, his third of the season. Mathieu Tousignant, Emile Poirier, Mark Cundari, and Tyler Wotherspoon all had assists in the victory, while Joni Ortio made 27 saves to earn his sixth win of the season.

The Flames opened the scoring at the 13:41 mark of the opening frame, as Hanowski beat Lake Erie netminder Roman Will. Tousignant intercepted the puck between the circles in the Monsters’ zone and moved it over to Hanowski. The St. Cloud State product blazed in, faked to the backhand and finished on the forehand to beat Will and give Adirondack the lead.

Lake Erie evened the score at one just 73 seconds later, when Mike Sgarbossa put the puck past Joni Ortio on a 2-on-1 odd man rush. Sharbossa received the puck from Michael Schumacher, broke into the zone, and let a shot go from the bottom of the right circle that got past Ortio. The goal was Sgarbossa’s first of the season and was assisted by Schumacher and Colin Smith.

It took only 96 seconds more before the Monsters again found the back of the net and gained their first lead of the night at the 16:33 mark of the first period. Thomas Vincour and Andrew Agozzino successfully executed a give-and-go, as Vincour took the final feed in the slot and beat Ortio from point blank range.

The Flames drew back to level pegging as they knotted the game at two, 3:38 into the second period. With the 5-on-3 power play advantage, Poirier fed a pass through the crease, right onto the stick of Arnold, who made no mistake and put the puck into the back of the net. Arnold’s goal was his third over the past two games, while Poirier collected a point for the fourth time in five games since he returned from injury.

As Arnold’s tying goal came with one second remaining on two-man advantage, the Flames continued with the 5-on-4 power play. A mere 36 seconds following Arnold’s goal, Adirondack struck once again on the power play as Hanowski netted his second goal of the evening, fifth of the season, to regain the lead for the Flames. Hanowski took a pass from Tyler Wotherspoon, stepped in from the top of the right circle, and blew the puck past Will, low blocker side.

The Flames entered the third period holding onto a 3-2 lead. While Lake Erie had its chances, Ortio stood tall and preserved the Adirondack lead. With 24 seconds to play in regulation time, Lake Erie forward Andrew Agozzino made a no-look back pass into his own zone, and the puck wound up in the back of the Monsters net, to seal the deal for the Flames. Hanowski was credited with the goal, his sixth of the season, which completed the hat trick.

The Flames and Monsters are back in action tomorrow afternoon at the Quicken Loans arena for a 1:00 p.m. tilt. The Flames return to the Glens Falls Civic Center this Tuesday, November, 18 as the Chicago Wolves come to town. Tickets are still available for Tuesday’s contest. Visit the Flames box office, call 518-480-3355, or order online at glensfallscc.com to be a part of Saturday Night is Hockey Night in Glens Falls.

Adirondack Flames Hockey • Fired Up