THUNDER FALL 5-1 TO READING

Glens Falls, NY – The Adirondack Thunder fired 39 shots on goal but were unable to solve Reading netminder Mark Dekanich in a 5-1 loss on Friday evening at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The Reading pair of Johnny McInnis and Steven Swavely struck twice as Reading opened a 2-0 lead in the first period. First, 5:46 into the game, the Royals won possession of the puck off of a faceoff and Swavely found McInnis open in the slot for an uncovered tap in past Adirondack netminder J.P. Anderson. The Reading pair struck again at 14:55 as McInnis scored his second goal of the evening. From the boards behind the net, Swavely sent a backhanded pass to McInnis, who carried the puck through traffic and fired home over Anderson’s blocker for the top-shelf goal.

Reading concluded the period with a goal just 89 seconds from the intermission with an unassisted goal from Swavely for his third point of the evening. With the Royals shorthanded, Swavely carried the puck into the zone, and hit the breaks to create room in the slot and he finished with a wrist shot to the top-right corner to give his team a 3-0 advantage heading into the intermission.

After a scoreless second period, Adirondack got on the board with a goal from forward Gunnar Hughes, his seventh of the season, to move back within two goals. The Thunder worked the puck around the horn where Alex Wall sent a cross-ice pass from the point to find Hughes in the right-hand circle, where the 6-1 winger slotted his wrist shot into the far side of the net. Wall and Patch Alber collected assists on the goal, Wall’s team-leading twentieth helper of the season.

Just 80 seconds later, however, Reading extended its lead back to three goals as Johnny McInnis completed the hat trick with his eighth goal of the season. As Adirondack attempted to clear the zone, McInnis picked off a pass in the Adirondack zone and drove to the net. McInnis’ initial shot was denied by Anderson, but he grabbed his own rebound behind the net and sent a blind backhanded pass that deflected off of a Thunder skate and in for the goal. The hat trick for McInnis was the first of his ECHL career.

Reading concluded the scoring for the night with just 1:26 left in the game with an empty net goal as Ryan Penny scored his twelfth of the season. Watters completed his multi-point game with the lone assist on the play. With the loss, Adirondack falls to 19-13-4-3 on the season and remains tied with the Wheeling Nailers for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division at 45 points.

The Thunder return to action with home games this Friday and Saturday at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Adirondack Thunder individual and group ticket packages are also 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.

###

Adirondack Thunder Hockey - This Is Our Team