Glens Falls, NY – The Adirondack Thunder moved into sole possession of first place in the North Division with a 4-2 victory over the Manchester Monarchs on Tuesday evening at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
The visitors opened the scoring early in the first period as Manchester forward Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman found the back of the net just under six minutes into the game. Monarchs’ forward Matt Leitner collected the puck behind the Adirondack net and slid it in front to LaVallee-Smotherman, who put his shot by Adirondack netminder Mason McDonald for his fourth goal of the season. Leitner picked up the lone helper on the play, his tenth of the season.
Adirondack knotted the score as the game neared the end of the opening period, with the game-tying goal coming with just 3:41 to play in the first. Thunder forward Dennis Kravchenko carried the puck through the offensive zone and dropped it to a trailing Ty Loney as he moved behind the net. Loney then beat Manchester netminder Sam Brittain on the blocker side for his ninth goal of the season. Kravchenko and defenseman Mathieu Brodeur picked up the assists on the play, the first career professional point for Kravchenko.
Manchester took its second lead of the night midway through the second period as forward Joe Diamond snuck a shot through the short side for his ninth tally of the season. Monarchs’ defenseman Connor Hardowa held the puck in the offensive zone at the right point before Diamond collected it and fired home from the right-hand circle. Hardowa picked up the lone helper on the play, his second of the season.
With Manchester on the power play, Adirondack seized an opportunity as James Henry scored for the second straight game to knot the score at two. Henry pounced on a turnover around the Manchester blueline and skated the length of the ice before he scored on his second effort, after seeing his first shot denied by Brittain. Henry’s goal, which came unassisted, was both his third and Adirondack’s third shorthanded tally of the year.
With 7:03 left on the clock in regulation, Adirondack took its first lead of the evening, courtesy of Brett Pollock’s second goal of the season. After defenseman Mathieu Brodeur head-manned the puck, Greg Wolfe moved into the offensive zone and hit a streaking Pollock in stride, where the rookie winger put it home for the 3-2 advantage. Wolfe and Brodeur picked up the assists on the play, the 13th assist of the season for Brodeur.
With the clock inside two minutes to play, Peter MacArthur extended his scoring streak to six games with the empty net tally, with Henry collecting the lone assist on the play for his second straight multi-point game.
The Thunder continue their seven-game homestand on Tuesday as they host a familiar foe in the Manchester Monarchs, with puck drop slated for 7:00 p.m. Adirondack Thunder individual and group ticket packages are available for just $13 per ticket in addition to new Thunder mini-packs, consisting of four tickets and a gift card to a local restaurant for just $65. Call 518-480-3355 x1 or visit ECHLThunder.com/tickets to customize a plan and reserve your seat locations today.
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Adirondack Thunder Hockey – This Is Our Team