FLAMES COMEBACK FALLS JUST SHORT

Glens Falls, NY – The Adirondack Flames came up short in their come from behind effort as they fell 5-3 to the Hamilton Bulldogs on Tuesday evening at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Devin Setoguchi recorded his first points of the season for the Flames with a goal and an assist, while Ben Hanowski and Hathaway also tallied for the home side. Despite an aggressive effort offensively, the Flames were unable to get much past Hamilton goalie Joey MacDonald. The Flames finished with 37 shots on goal compared to the Bulldogs’ 24 as Joni Ortio took the defeat with 20 saves.

The Flames had a season high 19 shots on goal but could not crack MacDonald. Adirondack led in shots during the first period 19-9, yet headed to the locker room down 2-0. Hamilton opened scoring less than two minutes after play began when Darren Dietz ripped one past Joni Ortio to give the Bulldog’s an early 1-0 lead. Sven Andrighetto earned an assist on the goal.

Defenseman Nathan Beaulieu added the Bulldogs’ second goal of the night 8:40 into the opening frame. Beaulieu fired it from the right side once again, sending it past Ortio blocker side. Andrighetto recorded his second assist of the game on a nifty drop pass and standout winger Charles Hudon collected the secondary assist on the play.

Five minutes into the middle period, Andrighetto beat Ortio on the power play for Hamilton’s third goal of the game. With his team on the power play, the Swiss winger displayed his hands with a nice play to beat Ortio. Forwards T.J. Hensick and Hudon collected the helpers on the play.

The Bulldogs’ received a penalty shot attempt with less than eight minutes to go. Christian Thomas was able to get the goal after multiple dekes to increase the Hamilton lead to 4-0.

The Flames finally broke through with 4:14 left in the second stanza. Emile Poirier dropped the puck to Hanowski, who drove the puck to the goal where it bounced off of a skate and into the net. Poirier was credited with the primary assist and Tyler Wotherspoon was credited with the secondary assist on Hanowski’s team leading tenth goal of the season.

Just 69 seconds later the Flames struck again. Quick-thinking passes from Ortio to Max Reinhart set up for Reinhart to get the puck to Setoguchi. The veteran winger then passed to Hathaway, who slammed the puck past the Hamilton netminder to bring Adirondack within two goals at 4-2. Setoguchi received the assist, his first point of the season, and Reinhart also recorded an assist on the goal.

Adirondack came out aggressive in the final period. The aggression paid off 7:42 into the final stanza, when Setoguchi was able to force one past MacDonald for the Flames’ third goal of the night. The goal came after Ryan Culkin’s shot met traffic, but Setoguchi, a veteran of over 500 NHL games, was able to force it through. It was Setoguchi’s first goal of the season and second point of the night. Culkin was credited with the only assist on the play.

Hamilton added its final goal of the evening on an empty netter by Drayson Bowman to seal the deal with just over a minute to play. Gabriel Dumont recorded an assist.

The Flames are back in action Friday evening as they host the Texas Stars. Tickets are still available for the contest. Visit the Flames box office, call 518-480-3355, or order online at glensfallscc.com to be a part of Flames Fridays!