FLAMES DROP SECOND STRAIGHT, FALL 7-4 IN SYRACUSE

Syracuse, NY – The Adirondack Flames fell to the Syracuse Crunch on Friday evening by a final score of 7-4 at the Oncenter Memorial Arena.

Kenny Agostino led the Flames offensively with two goals on the evening, while Devin Setoguchi and Sena Acolatse added the other two tallies for Adirondack. Both Setoguchi and Acolatse, like Agostino, also had multi-point games with assists in the game. Brett Kulak, Mark Cundari, Max Reinhart, Taylor Vause, and Bill Arnold also made their way onto the scoresheet, and Brad Thiessen made 21 saves in defeat.

Syracuse opened the scoring just 4:28 into the contest, as Yanni Gourde beat Brad Thiessen with a wrist shot from the right-hand faceoff dot. Gourde took a Carter Ashton pass in stride, raced down the right side and put the puck past the Flames netminder short side. Ashton and J.P. Cote were credited with the assists on Gourde’s 23rd goal of the season.

It only took 71 seconds before the Crunch doubled their lead at 5:39 of the opening frame, as Ryan Martindale fired a slap shot past Thiessen from the far faceoff dot. Martindale was the recipient of a Jonathan Marchessault pass on the left wing, wound up and fired the puck into back of the net. The goal was Martindale’s ninth of the season, with the lone assist on the tally going to Marchessault.

Then it was Adirondack’s turn for a pushback. Skating down a man on the penalty kill, Kenny Agostino intercepted the puck in the Flames defensive zone and shoved it up to Max Reinhart. Reinhart raced up the ice, through the neutral zone and into the Syracuse zone. He then dropped the puck off for Agostino who trailed the play up ice and the former Yale Bulldog stepped into the pass and ripped a one-time blast past the glove of Kristers Gudlevskis from the top of the near faceoff circle to pull Adirondack within one. The goal for Agostino, which extended his current point streak to four games, was his sixth of the season and the first shorthanded goal of his AHL career.

The Flames knotted the score at two a piece a mere 2:15 into the middle stanza when Devin Setoguchi found the back of the net for his second goal of the season with the Adirondack Flames. The Flames worked the puck deep in the offensive zone, and when the puck found Taylor Vause at the side of the net, he banked it off of Gudlevskis where Setoguchi was waiting to put home the rebound. Vause and Sena Acolatse were credited with the helpers on the goal.

Syracuse regained the lead just 1:20 after Setoguchi’s tying tally, when Carter Aston took advantage of a broken play behind the Flames net. With the puck deep in the Adirondack zone, Tanner Richard pushed a loose puck out in front of the goal where Ashton patiently waited to tap the puck past Thiessen from point blank range to earn his sixth goal of the campaign. Richard was credited with the assist on the goal, which came at 3:35 of the second period.

The Flames again pulled even with the Crunch at three, when Sena Acolatse beat Gudlevskis on the power play at the 6:41 mark of the second period. While skating with the man advantage, the Flames cycled the puck around the offensive zone, and when it made its way to Acolatse, he wristed a shot towards the net which found its way through traffic and into the goal. The marker for Acolatse was his fifth of the season, and was assisted by Brett Kulak and Bill Arnold.

Adirondack took the lead for the first time on the evening at 11:16 of the middle frame, when Kenny Agostino lit the lamp for the second time on the night. After Setoguchi skated out from behind the Syracuse net and into the slot, he threw a shot towards goal which Agostino deflected past the glove side of Gudlevskis. The goal for Agostino was his seventh of the season and gave him the first multi-goal game of his AHL career, with the assists going to Setoguchi and Mark Cundari.

As the third period got underway, the Flames found themselves holding onto a 4-3 lead, but keeping with the trend of the game, that lead did not last very long. At the 2:52 mark of the final period, Martindale netted his second goal of the game and 10th of the year to tie the score at four. In good position, Martindale was in the right place at the right time as he deflected a Slater Koekkoek point shot from the slot past Thiessen. Koekkoek and David Broll earned the assists on Martindale’s tying tally.

Syracuse again took back the lead, 5-4, at 11:45 of the final period when Luke Witkowski scored his second goal of the year. As the Crunch entered the zone, Witkowski gained control of the puck and when he swung it toward the net, it deflected off of Acolatse’s stick well above the crossbar and into the net past Thiessen to give the Crunch the one goal advantage. Tanner Richard and Gourde earned the assists on Witkowski’s marker.

The Crunch added an insurance goal two and a half minutes after the Witkowski tally to go ahead 6-4 courtesy of Richard. Syracuse controlled play in the Adirondack zone, and after Thiessen made the first save on Gourde right in front of the net, Richard was waiting in the net mouth to put the rebound past the Flames netminder. The goal for Richard, which was his 11th of the season, came at 14:15 of the third period, and was assisted by Gourde and Ashton.

With his team ahead by two, Jake Dotchin sealed the deal for the Crunch with 1:31 remaining in regulation, as he potted the empty net goal to put the Crunch ahead 7-4. The goal for Dotchin was his fifth of the season, with Martindale earning the lone assist, his third point on the night.

The Flames return home to the Civic Center tomorrow, Saturday, as they will continue their busy weekend with a 7:00 p.m. tilt with the Toronto Marlies on Saturday Night is Hockey Night in Glens Falls, presented by Bud Light. It is also “Go Green” night, featuring a St. Patrick's Day theme, with an in-game green T-shirt toss, with various St. Patrick’s Day prizes presented by O'Toole's restaurant Pub. Pre-game specials will be available at the Bullpen from 5-6 p.m. Tickets are available to the general public. Tickets are still available for that game, 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

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