THUNDER REMAIN UNBEATEN ON THE ROAD WITH 5-3 WIN IN MANCHESTER

Manchester, NH – The Adirondack Thunder got back to winning ways as they remained unbeatean on the road with a 5-3 win over the Manchester Monarchs on Saturday evening at SNHU Arena.

For the second straight game it was Manchester that struck first as Daniel Ciampini remained hot against the Thunder with his fourth goal in four games played against Adirondack this season. Manchester forward Justin Gutierrez corralled the puck on the right wing and hit a streaking Ciampini, who fired a shot off of a Thunder defenseman and past netminder Ken Appleby for the game-opening tally. The goal for Ciampini was his eighth point of the season, while Gutierrez and defenseman David Kolomatis collected the helpers on the play, the seventh of the season for Kolomatis.

The Thunder took just 77 seconds to respond, however, as Mikkel Aagaard scored his third goal of the season. After forward Greg Wolfe led a rush down the right wing, he dropped the puck back to a trailing Aagaard and the Denmark native put his wrist shot by Manchester netminder Colin Stevens for the game-tying goal. The tally for Aagaard was his eighth point in eight games this season, while Wolfe and defenseman Stepan Falkovsky collected the helpers on the play, the second straight game with an assist for Wolfe.

The visitors took their first lead of the evening past the halfway mark of the opening period as Phil Lane re-directed home his fifth goal of the season with the Thunder on the man advantage. With Adirondack on a rare 4-on-3 power play, defenseman Mathieu Brodeur fired a shot on net that was redirected home by Lane, who was positioned in front of Stevens. The tally for Lane tied him with teammate Brian Ward for the team lead in goals, while Brodeur and forward Matt Bailey picked up the assists on the play, extending each player’s scoring streak to four games.

With less than three minutes to play in the first period, Bailey got on the board with a goal of his own as he fired home with just 2:45 remaining in the opening stanza. After forward Brett Pollock won the puck deep in the Manchester zone, he hit Bailey at the bottom of the right-hand circle and the Winnipeg native fired past Stevens for his first career ECHL goal. Bailey’s tally also gave him his first career multi-point game at the ECHL level and his fifth point in four games, while Pollock and Lane picked up the assists on the play, the third straight game with a point for Pollock.

Manchester opened the scoring in the second period as well, as Justin Gutierrez cut the Thunder advantage to a single goal with his tally 81 seconds into the middle stanza. Forward Matt Leitner collected the puck on the right wing and sent a well-weighted backhanded pass across the goal frame and through the Thunder defense, where a waiting Gutierrez finished off for his second goal of the season. Leitner and Damir Sharipzyanov collected the assists on the play, the team leading eighth helper of the season for Leitner.

Adirondack regained its two-goal advantage as Ty Loney found the back of the net at the 8:51 mark of the first period, his third goal of the 2016-17 season. Thunder forwards Alex Fedoseyev and Gunnar Hughes entered the puck into the offensive zone and found Loney in front, where the 6-4 winger buried for the goal. The tally for Loney was his third against Manchester this season, while Hughes and Fedoseyev picked up the assists, the first of the season and his ECHL career for Fedoseyev.

After Manchester took a pair of penalties, the Thunder converted on an extended 5-on-3 advantage to extend their lead to 5-2. After he saw his first opportunity ring off the iron, Brodeur one-timed a pass from Loney in the high slot that whizzed past Stevens for his second tally of the season. Brodeur’s goal marked his second straight game with a goal, while Loney and Patch Alber collected the helpers on the play, the third of the season for Alber.

The home team capitalized on a power play of their own as they cut the Adirondack advantage to 5-3 with 14:08 to play in the third period. Manchester forward Derek Arnold cut to the middle, collected a pass and fired home from the high slot for his second goal of the season and the third power-play goal of the evening between the two teams. Sharipzyanov and forward Justin Agosta collected the helpers on the play, the second of the evening for Sharipzyanov.

The Thunder and Monarchs will square off once again tomorrow in Manchester, with puck drop slated for 3:00 p.m. at SNHU Arena. Full and half season ticket packages, as well as flex packs are available now for the 2016-17 season at just $13 per seat, a savings of 34% off of 2015-16 pricing. Call 518-480-3355 x1 to customize a plan and reserve your season ticket locations today.

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