THUNDER CLINCH ROUND 1 HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE WITH 4-1 WIN OVER MONARCHS

Glens Falls, NY – The Adirondack Thunder got 34 saves from goaltender J.P. Anderson as they earned home-ice advantage in round one of the 2017 Kelly Cup playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Manchester Monarchs on Tuesday evening at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, forward Cam Brown opened the scoring at the 13:43 mark of the middle stanza when he converted a rebound opportunity in front of the Manchester net. With the puck sitting below the goal line, Alex Wall fed the puck to Christopher Dienes at the point. Dienes's slap-shot was saved by Jack Flinn, but Brown crashed the net and fired a quick wrist shot past Flinn for his second tally of the season. The assist from Dienes was his first point in a Thunder uniform while Wall’s helper was his 36th of the season.

Brock Montgomery doubled the Thunder advantage to 2-0 with a redirection in front on the power play. With Manchester a man short after a late-period penalty, Adirondack Captain Peter MacArthur collected the puck at the top of the offensive zone and fired a shot towards the net that was redirected home by Montgomery for his ninth goal of the season. MacArthur and defenseman Patch Alber collected the assists on the play, the team leading 39th of the season for MacArthur.

The Thunder opened up a three-goal advantage less than two minutes into the third period as Brian Ward collected his team-leading 26th goal of the season. With the puck at the point, Alber sent a shot towards the net that Ward redirected home past Flinn for the goal. Ward extended his point streak to 13 games with the goal while Alber collected his second helper of the evening, his 35th of the season.

The Monarchs ended Adirondack netminder J.P. Anderson's bid for a second straight shutout 5:36 into the third period. After an original offensive chance was denied by Anderson, the rebound bounced through the crease to Zac Lynch, who tapped it home for his 18th goal of the season. Forwards Daniel Doremus and Joe Diamond collected the helpers on the play, Doremus' 38th of the season.

With less than a minute to play in the game, Thunder forward Gunnar Hughes fired home for an empty net goal. Montgomery and Anderson collected the assists on the play, the first of Anderson’s season.

With the victory, Adirondack improves to 39-20-7-4 on the season, good for 89 points and a five-point lead in the North Division standings. The 39th victory of the season sets a Thunder franchise record and Adirondack with clinch the North Division title with a victory this weekend in Elmira or a Brampton Beast loss.

Tickets for Games A and B of Round 1 of the 2017 Kelly Cup Playoffs are on sale tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at the Glens Falls Civic Center box office or by visiting glensfallscc.com. A full round one schedule will be announced no later than Monday, April 10. Adirondack Thunder individual and group ticket packages are also available for just $13 per t¬icket 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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