THUNDER TAKE 3-0 SERIES LEAD WITH 4-2 WIN OVER MONARCHS

Glens Falls, NY - The Adirondack Thunder fought to a 4-2 win over the Manchester Monarchs to take a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchup. The Thunder can clinch a berth in the second round with a win at the Civic Center on Monday evening.

Adirondack opened the scoring just 40 seconds into the game as Mitchell Heard found the back of the net for the second straight night to give the Thunder an early 1-0 lead. Peter MacArthur, the overtime hero from a night ago, sent a long, high-arching pass up the ice that Heard collected, pulled around a defenseman and potted home for his second goal of the playoffs. MacArthur collected the lone assist on the play, his third straight game with a point.

After a tired Thunder group remained on the ice after an icing call, the Monarchs took full advantage as they knotted the score at one with 10:09 left in the first. Manchester forward Derek Arnold won an offensive zone draw back to Maxim Kitsyn, who slotted his shot past Adirondack netminder Ken Appleby for his second goal of the playoffs. Arnold collected the lone assist on the play, his second assist of the postseason.

The Thunder regained the lead at the 13:59 mark of the first as Heard collected his second of the evening, this one a well-executed deke on Manchester netminder Colin Stevens. After he took a cross-ice feed from winger Ben Johnson, Heard cut to the front of the net, went backhand-to-forehand on Stevens and slid it home for the goal. Heard’s tally was his third of the playoffs, while Johnson and MacArthur picked up the helpers on the play, the second in as many nights for Johnson.

The Thunder netted the lone tally of the middle stanza, as they collected a power-play goal at the 12:44 mark of the second period. Heard continued his hot hand as he accepted a pass from Ryan Constant and fired a shot that appeared to go in off the post, but after it was waved off, Lomberg buried it for good measure to extend the Adirondack advantage to two. Lomberg’s goal was his first career professional playoff goal, while Heard and Constant collected the assists, the third point of the game for Heard.

Midway through the third period, Manchester cut their deficit to one as Matt Fornataro converted with his team on the man advantage to push the score to 3-2. Manchester, coming off of a timeout, moved the puck well on the power play, leading to a Joey Diamond shot that was denied by Appleby but the rebound fell directly into the path of Fornataro, who buried it for the goal. Fornataro’s tally was his third point of the post season, while Diamond and Leitner had the helpers on the play.

With less than 20 seconds to play, Greg Wolfe sealed the deal with an empty net goal, his fourth of the playoffs. With the victory, Adirondack can clinch the series with a victory in Game 4 on Monday. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. at the Civic Center.

All 2015-16 full and partial season ticket holders and 2016-17 full season ticket holders can get round one of the playoffs at the 2016-17 full season ticket price of $13 per game, not including sales tax or facility fee. All 2015-16 full season ticket holders with Youth, Bronze or Silver packages will be grandfathered for round one at their 2015-16 per game rate. Any 2015-16 or 2016-17 full season ticket holders should visit the Thunder front office (playoff extended hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.) or call 518-480-3355 x1 to reserve their playoff location. Group tickets are also on sale now. Any group can get tickets for all three Round One games by visiting the Thunder front office or by calling 518-480-3355 x1.

###

Experience The Thunder