THUNDER OPEN 2017 WITH 4-2 DEFEAT TO NORFOLK

Norfolk, VA - The Adirondack Thunder dropped their first game of 2017 with a 4-2 defeat to the Norfolk Admirals on Wednesday evening at the Norfolk Scope.

Norfolk opened the scoring with just over two minutes to play in the first period as forward John Dunbar buried his ninth goal of the season for the 1-0 lead. After the Thunder turned the puck over in their own end, Norfolk forward TJ Foster saw his backhanded effort denied by an outstretched left pad save from Adirondack netminder JP Anderson. Foster collected the rebound, however, and fed an uncovered Dunbar at the back post for the tap-in goal. Foster collected the lone assist on the play, his 14th point in 12 games this season with Norfolk.

The Admirals capitalized on the man advantage to increase their lead to two just past the halfway point of the second period. With Adirondack on the penalty kill, the Admirals controlled possession in the offensive zone, leading to a Mikkel Tam feed to Nick MacNeil for the one-timer goal from the right point. The goal, MacNeil’s seventh of the season, was assisted on by Tam and forward Brodie Dupont, extending Tam’s scoring streak to eight games.

The Thunder got on the board less than four minutes into the third period as they cut their deficit to just one with a power-play goal. After Adirondack entered the offensive zone, forward Ty Loney collected the puck in front of the Admirals’ net, outwaited Norfolk netminder Brandon Anderson and roofed his shot for his team-leading 13th tally of the season. Forwards Alex Fedoseyev and Mikkel Aagaard collected the assists on the play, the sixth assist of the season for Fedoseyev.

With just under five minutes to play in the third, the Thunder found their equalizer as Aagaard scored off the rush to knot the score at two. After he collected a Gunnar Hughes pass in the neutral zone, Aagaard sped into the offensive end past the Norfolk defense and put his wrist shot top shelf from the left-hand circle for his eighth goal of the season. Hughes and defenseman Kevin Lough collected the assists on the play, Hughes’ fourth straight game with a point.

It took the Admirals just eight seconds to strike back, however, as the hosts regained their one-goal advantage with just 4:50 to play in regulation. Norfolk broke into the offensive zone off of the center-ice faceoff on a quick 2-on-1 rush, which saw Dupont feed Jaedon Descheneau, and the Norfolk winger batted the feed out of mid-air with great hand-eye coordination for the goal, his seventh of the season. Dupont and MacNeil collected the assists on the play, the second point of the evening for both forwards. The Admirals added a late empty netter from Dupont with just 1:09 left in the game to close the scoring at 4-2.

The Thunder return to action this weekend as they visit the Reading Royals for a pair of games at Santander Arena on Friday and Saturday evening, in search of their first victory of the season against Reading. 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