THUNDER OPEN BACK-TO-BACK AGAINST READING WITH 5-4 SHOOTOUT LOSS

Glens Falls NY - The Adirondack Thunder fell to the Reading Royals by a 5-4 final in a shootout in the first game of a back-to-back set in Glens Falls this weekend. Tonight’s contest marked the Thunder’s first game at the Civic Center in 11 days and saw the Thunder pick up their first point on home ice in four games.

Reading opened the scoring just under three minutes into the game on Cam Reid’s twelfth goal of the year. The visitors took advantage of an early power-play chance when Nikita Kashirsky dropped a pass back to Reid, who lifted the puck over Adirondack netminder Drew Fielding for the early lead. Kashirsky and Jesper Petersson had the helpers on the play, their 18th and ninth on the season respectively.

The Thunder answered right back at the 6:38 mark of the first period, when Gunnar Hughes took a neutral zone pass from Terrance Wallin, skated into the offensive zone uncontested and fired top shelf over the outstretched glove of Reading goalie Connor Knapp to tie the contest at one. The tally was the ninth goal of the year for Hughes, while Wallin extended his point streak to four games with his third assist of the season.

The Royals took back the lead just over two minutes into second period as Kashirsky picked up his 11th goal of the season. The Moscow, Russia native took the breakout pass from Nick Luukko in the Reading end and carried the puck all the way down to just in front of the Thunder crease, where he was able to shoot over Fielding. The goal gave Kashirsky a multi-point game, while the lone helper was the eighth assist of the year for Luukko.

Adirondack once again responded quickly, this time less than a minute later, when Louick Marcotte found the back of the net for the fourteenth time this season. Marcotte took a neutral zone pass from Peter MacArthur, skated into the Reading zone and shot on the net, past Knapp’s blocker. Marcotte increased his goal streak to four games where he has lit the lamp six times in those contests. For MacArthur, the play marked his thirteenth helper of the year.

The Thunder took their first lead of the night with just under seven minutes remaining in the middle stanza. Michael Kirkpatrick took a cross-ice pass from Mathieu Brodeur, walked in towards the hash marks and put his shot over Knapp’s outstretched glove. The power-play goal marked was the twelfth assist this season for Brodeur, while Patch Alber picked up the secondary assist on the play, his 21st of the year, one shy of Kirkpatrick for the team lead.

Reading answered right away, however, as Brandon Alderson tied the game at three less than a minute later. The visitors set up in the offensive end where Alderson was able to cut through the slot, take a pass in the low slot from Reid and place the puck just past Fielding for his sixth goal this year. Yannick Tifu grabbed the secondary assist on the play, marking the 22nd assist of the season for both Tifu and Reid.

Adirondack regained the lead three minutes into the third period while on the penalty kill. MacArthur ‘s pass beat two Reading players, which lead to a breakaway for teammate Luke Curadi and with two defenders on his heels, Curardi deked to the backhand for his second goal of the season. MacArthur’s second helper of the night and 14th of the season gives him five multi-point games, three of which have come in the Thunder’s last four games.

The Royals tied the game at four with just 1:27 remaining in regulation on Pavel Padakin’s eighth goal of the year. With the goalie pulled, the visitors used the man advantage to their favor, firing shot after shot on Fielding until a rebound found its way on to Padakin’s stick and the forward was able to lift the puck into the net and send the game to overtime. Kashirsky contributed the assist on the play, which gave him his first three-point game in a Royals uniform.

After five minutes over overtime, which included a strong, two-minute, 4-on-3 penalty kill from the Thunder, the game went to a shootout where Reading pulled out the victory after six rounds. Tifu and Kirkpatrick traded goals in the first two rounds, before Alderson scored the winner in round six.

The Thunder pick up a point and improve their season total to 66. Adirondack will get their chance for revenge in a matinee matchup tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. in the second game of the back-to-back with the Royals at the Civic Center. Tomorrow’s game is the Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Ted Nolan and Dave Hanson, with a pre-game reception in Heritage Hall starting at 1:45.

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