Glens Falls, NY –The Adirondack Flames broke their three-game losing streak in an astonishing manner, as they scored a franchise-high 10 goals in a shutout victory over the Syracuse Crunch on Tuesday evening at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The 10 goals were the most scored by any team in the American Hockey League this season and the ten goal margin of difference, was the first double digit victory in the AHL since 2002.
The Flames were firing on all cylinders tonight, with 13 different players finding the scoresheet, including nine players with multi-point games. Sven Baertschi recorded the first hat trick of his AHL career, and many other players put together season and career high totals. It was an impressive night on all fronts for the Flames, as Joni Ortio recorded his fourth shutout of the season, with 29 saves. The Flames special teams also stepped up, with both a shorthanded goal and a power play goal on their way to a 10-goal victory.
The Flames opened the scoring just 5:27 into the game as Max Reinhart rocketed a one-timer past Syracuse goalie Kristers Gudlevskis to give the Flames the 1-0 lead and never looked back. Reinhart took a quick pass from Kenny Agostino at the bottom of the right circle and banged it home. The goal marked Reinhart’s 100th AHL point and Ben Hanowski recorded a secondary assist on the goal.
Adirondack pushed its lead to 2-0 on a shorthanded goal by Markus Granlund. Garnet Hathaway set up Granlund’s short-range goal with a quick pass, his first assist of the night.
The Flames continued to click offensively after the first intermission. Just two minutes into the middle period, Mark Cundari blasted a shot just below the blue line. The high-powered drive found its way through traffic to push the lead 3-0. Drew Shore joined in on the scoring barrage during the Flames first power play of the night. Shore sent a one-timer past Gudlevskis for the Flames’ fourth goal of the night. Cundari and Emile Poirier recorded assists on the goal.
Gudlevskis was pulled following the fourth goal, but goalie Allen York was unable to stop the bleeding. Minutes after a goal by Granlund was overturned, Baertschi took a pass from Granlund and sent it flying from the right circle to push the lead to 5-0. Baertschi wasn’t finished, as with just under three minutes left in the period, he sent the puck by York to give the Flames a 6-0 lead. Hathaway recorded his third assist of the night, a career and AHL high.
Adirondack and Syracuse skated back and forth through half of the final period, but the Flames were not done adding to their goal total. Turner Elson beat York on a semi-breakaway to give the Flames a 7-0 lead. Brian McGrattan recorded an assist on the goal. Agostino added even more padding to the lead when he beat York short side with seven minutes to go in the third. The eight goal set the Flames’ franchise record for goals in a single game.
Baertschi recorded his third goal of the night on a pass from Wotherspoon. Hats began flying onto the ice as the Civic Center celebrated Baertschi’s first career hat trick. Elson added his second goal and concluded the record breaking evening as he pushed the Flames into double digits for the final goal of the night, with McGrattan and Dustin Stevenson recording assists on the goal. The Flames finished the game with 10 goals on 26 shots, as they set an AHL record this season with their 10-goal victory.
The Flames begin a four game road trip before returning to the Glens Falls Civic Center on Feb. 28 to take on Toronto, with start time slated for 7:00 p.m. 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 Saturday Night is Hockey Night in Glens Falls.
Adirondack Flames Hockey • Fired Up
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