FLAMES DROP 6-1 DECISION TO GRAND RAPIDS

Glens Falls, NY – The Grand Rapids Griffins spoiled “Relive the Miracle Night” with a 6-1 victory over the Adirondack Flames on Saturday night in front of a sold out Glens Falls Civic Center.

5,300 fans were on hand as both teams traded chances during the opening period, but neither could breakthrough on the scoreboard. Starting netminders Brad Thiessen and Jared Coreau were solid between the pipes as they turned aside all shots they faced, 12 for Thiessen and nine for Coreau.

The Flames opened the scoring just 48 seconds into the second period as Bill Arnold put home an Emile Poirier centering feed on the backdoor to make it 1-0. The goal was Arnold’s fifth goal and 12th point of the season. The tally marked the fifth straight game at home where the Flames opened the scoring with the game’s first goal.

Grand Rapids answered back quickly just 50 seconds later as Mitch Callahan went high, stick side, over Theissen to knot the score at one. The goal came as Callahan picked up a rebound on a Teemu Pulkkinen shot. Mattias Backman got credit for the secondary assist on Callahan’s seventh of the season.

Landon Ferraro got the second tally of the game for the Griffins, which gave Grand Rapids its first lead of the game. Ferraro picked up his fourth of the campaign as he took advantage of a Theissen turnover when he left his crease to play the puck behind the net. The lone assist was credited to Kevin Porter with the goal coming at 5:56.

Jeff Hoggan double the Griffins’ advantage at the 10:42 mark of the second period when he batted a rebound out of mid-air and into the back of the net. Alexey Marchenko and Andres Athanasiou collected the assists on the play. This goal sent the two teams into the locker room with Grand Rapids leading 3-1.

Grand Rapids would increase their lead to three early in the third when Athansiou registered his second point of the night. The London, ON native outwaited Theissen cutting across the slot and placing the puck into a wide-open net. Anthony Mantha and Mark Zengerle picked up their first points of the evening on the play with the assists.

Adirondack’s lengthy penalty kill streak came to an end at the 13:22 mark on a Nick Jensen power-play goal. The streak had sat at 33 straight kills, but ended when Jensen blasted home a shot from the right point through a maze of bodies in front of Theissen. Pulkkinen got his second assist on his diagonal pass for Jensen, while defenseman Nathan Paetsch also registered an assist on Jensen’s third of the season.

Callahan gave the Griffins additional insurance when he netted his second of the game. The winger slammed a slap shot home for his eighth of the season, off a nifty drop pass from Pulkkinen. Louis-Marc Aubry also received an assist on the play.

The Flames will get a chance to get back on track quickly as they host the Hamilton Bulldogs on Tuesday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center, with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m. Visit the Flames box office, call 518-480-3355, or order online at glensfallscc.com to be a part of Adirondack Flames Hockey.

Adirondack Flames Hockey • Fired Up

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