Manchester, NH –The Adirondack Thunder dropped a narrow 3-2 decision to the Manchester Monarchs on Wednesday evening at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH. Louick Marcotte extended his goal scoring streak to three games with his fifth tally in that span, while Drew Fielding made 31 saves in defeat in his first regulation loss with the Thunder since late December.
It was the Thunder who opened the scoring with a power-play goal in familiar fashion as Terrence Wallin redirected home a Michael Kirkpatrick point shot. The goal came in the same way the Thunder opened the scoring on Sunday in Brampton and the Thunder power play converted for the third straight game with the goal. Wallin’s tally is his second goal of the season while Kirkpatrick collected his 22nd assist of the 2015-16 campaign and Patch Alber took over the assist lead amongst defensemen with his 19th helper of the season.
The Monarchs knotted the game at one as they beat Adirondack netminder Drew Fielding for the first time with 4:59 gone by in the second period. The Monarchs entered the offensive zone and Alex Lintuniemi hit a streaking Matt Fornatero in front, where the veteran winger buried his shot for his fourth goal in six games this season. Lintuniemi and forward Joe Diamond collected the helpers on the play, the team leading sixth point of the season for Diamond in games against Adirondack.
Manchester struck again midway through the middle stanza to take their first lead of the evening. After a faceoff win in the offensive zone and Matt MacKenzie’s shot from the point was blocked in front, forward Maxim Kitsyn collected the puck and fired past Fielding for his 23rd goal of the season. With the tally, Kitsyn extended his scoring streak to 13 games, while Diamond collected the secondary assist for his seventh multi-assist game of the season.
The Monarchs capped off a controlling second period with their third tally of the middle stanza, this with just 4:15 on the clock. After forward Alex Guptill had his shot blocked by the Adirondack defense, the puck darted out to the point where defenseman Alex Roach fired a slapshot in stride that beat Fielding for his fifth tally of the season. The assist for Guptill marked his fifth helper of the season and his tenth point in 13 games with the Monarchs.
Adirondack was able to claw within a goal with 8:08 to play in the game as Louick Marcotte continued his hot form with an unassisted tally. After a Manchester turnover in their own end, Marcotte picked up the puck, walked down the slot and fired a wrist shot past Manchester netminder Colin Stevens for the goal. Marcotte’s tally was his fifth goal over the Thunder’s past three games, extending his goal streak to three games.
The Thunder are back in action this weekend as they host the Reading Royals in a back-to-back set. The series kicks off on Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. and concludes with the Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame inductions on Sunday afternoon as Ted Nolan and Dave Hanson are honored as some of the area’s finest alumni. Puck drop is set for 3:00 p.m. and fans can get two tickets for just $20 by calling the Thunder front office at 518-480-3355 x1.
Don’t miss out on the speed, skill, strength and sounds of Thunder hockey. Discounted group tickets and a Family 4 Pack are available now, along with individual tickets. For more information on all Thunder ticket plans, call 518-480-3355 x1 or visit echlthunder.com.
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