FLAMES SHOW OFF THEIR BILL TO WIN IN 3-2 OVERTIME VICTORY

Glens Falls, NY – The Adirondack Flames got back to their winning ways on Wednesday, as they downed their North Division rival, the Toronto Marlies, in a 3-2 overtime thriller in front of a sold out Glens Falls Civic Center.

It was a night full of contributions for the Flames, as Max Reinhart, Corban Knight, and Bill Arnold were the goal scorers for Adirondack. Tyler Wotherspoon and Sven Baertschi each picked up an assist, while John Ramage collected a pair of helpers for himself. Joni Ortio was terrific between the pipes for the Flames, as he turned aside 22 of Toronto’s 24 shots to earn his 16th win of the season.

The two squads skated to a scoreless first period and despite a number of high quality scoring chances, the Flames were unable to solve Toronto netminder Garret Sparks. Sparks turned aside all 13 shots directed his way during the opening stanza. Joni Ortio was also sharp, as he made seven saves during the first 20 minutes.

The Flames broke through just 43 seconds into the middle frame, though, as Reinhart buried the rebound off of a Ramage shot. Sparks made the initial save on the shot, but when the rebound landed right on Reinhart’s stick, the Adirondack forward wasted no time and put the puck in the back of the net. The goal for Reinhart was his fifth of the season and also broke an eight game scoring drought. The assist for Ramage was his sixth point of the 2014-15 campaign.

Toronto evened the score at one, 13:02 into the second period. Spencer Abbott intercepted the puck in the neutral zone and raced down the left side. He then cut towards the middle and let a shot go from between the circles which beat Ortio and found the back of the net. The goal for Abbott, which was unassisted, was his seventh of the season.

Just 1:23 after they tied the game, the Marlies struck again, this time off of a broken play in front of the net. After they corralled the puck in the Flames’ zone, Toronto threw the puck towards the net from a sharp angle. The puck landed on the goal line next to Ortio’s right skate, and sat there for a moment. After some confusion, Brad Ross found the puck, and poked it in past the Adirondack goaltender. After a short video review, the call on the ice was confirmed, and the goal stood. The tally for Ross was his fourth of the season, and was assisted by Viktor Loov, and Sam Carrick.

The contest headed to the third period with the Marlies leading clinging to a one goal lead, which they held for the first 18 minutes and eight seconds of the final frame. But after a hectic play in front of the Toronto net, Adirondack was awarded a penalty shot. Corban Knight was selected to shoot for the Flames. He moved in quickly on Sparks, slowed down, made a couple of moves, went to his forehand, and beat the sprawling Sparks to knot the score at two.

After the final buzzer, some extra-curricular activity broke out and coincidental minors were issued to both teams. Because of that, overtime began three-on-three, instead of four-on-four, and it didn’t take long for a goal to be scored.

Also at the start of overtime, due to an undisclosed injury, Toronto netminder Garret Sparks was replaced by Chris Gibson. It didn’t make a difference for Toronto, however, as just 1:36 into the overtime period, Baertschi dangled his way through the Toronto defenders, and made a top-notch feed to Arnold, who then slid the puck into the beckoning net, to clinch the game for the Flames. The goal was his eighth of the season, and was assisted by Baertschi and Ramage.

The Flames will return to action on Friday, as they will again take on Utica, as the Comets will visit the Civic Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. That evening’s game against Utica is a Flames Friday, presented by Labatt Blue. Tickets are still available for that matchup, and all remaining Flames’ home games. Visit the Flames box office, call 518-480-3355, or order online at glensfallscc.com.

Adirondack Flames Hockey • Fired Up