2018 ADIRONDACK HOCKEY HALL OF FAME CLASS ANNOUNCED

Glens Falls, NY – The Adirondack Thunder, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, announced today their 2018 Class of the Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame, to be inducted on Saturday, January 6.

The Class of 2018 consists of three former members of the Adirondack Red Wings organization - goaltender Norm Maracle, general manager Neil Smith and forward Chris Tancill. The Hall of Fame classes are selected by a combination of votes from the Adirondack Hall of Fame Committee and Adirondack Thunder fans through an online poll.

Prior to the game, a 7:00 p.m. puck drop against the Brampton Beast, the Thunder will host the Hall of Fame reception at 5:00 p.m. in Heritage Hall. The reception will feature speeches from all three inductees, as well as a Q&A session for fans to ask questions of their own. The reception is only open to those with a ticket to the game and will cost $5 for all fans with light food and beverages included.

"These three men each made giant contributions to the heritage of Adirondack Red Wings hockey for our region,” Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame Chairman Doug Burch said. “Norm made more than 6500 saves in the Red Wings nets, Chris scored 202 points in 147 Red Wings games and Neil, as general manager, engineered the rosters for two of the Red Wings Calder Cup championships.”

Norm Maracle played parts of five seasons in the Adirondack region with the AHL’s Adirondack Red Wings from 1994 – 1999 and is the first Adirondack goaltender to be inducted into the Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame. Maracle appeared in 233 games with the Red Wings, the most all time in franchise history by a goaltender, including his finest season with Adirondack in 1996-97, when he led the AHL in wins and save percentage en route to being named as an AHL Second-Team All-Star. The Belleville, ONT native went on to play in 68 NHL games with Detroit and Atlanta including two in the 1999 Stanley Cup Playoffs after he earned a Stanley Cup Ring with Detroit in 1998. At the time of his induction, Maracle works as a junior hockey coach in northern Ontario.

Neil Smith was the General Manager of two Calder Cup winning teams with the Adirondack Red Wings in 1986 and 1989. After scouting for the New York Islanders, Smith joined the Detroit Red Wings organization in 1982 and oversaw the Adirondack Red Wings for seven seasons before he was hired as the General Manager of the New York Rangers in 1989. Smith helped to end the Rangers’ 54-year championship drought as he constructed the 1994 Stanley Cup Champions. Smith returned to Glens Falls to serve as the color commentator on NHL Network for the 2017 ECHL All-Star Classic, the first ECHL All-Star event to be nationally broadcast. At the time of his induction, the Toronto, ONT native currently serves as an analyst with NHL Network.

Chris Tancill played for two seasons with the AHL’s Adirondack Red Wings and was a member of the 1992 Calder Cup Champion team. Tancill collected 172 points from just 118 games played, including a career-best 102 points during the 1992-93 season. Tancill led the AHL with 59 goals that season, the most in a single season in Adirondack Red Wings history, as he was named an AHL First-Team All-Star. The Livonia, MI native would appear in 145 games in the NHL with Hartford, Detroit, Dallas and San Jose and represented his country three times at the IIHF World Championships in 1996, 1997 and 2000, winning a bronze medal in 1996. Tancill completed his career with six seasons in Switzerland, where he was named as the league’s Most Valuable Player during the 1999-00 season.

Fans can purchase tickets at $20 to either game, with $5 from each ticket donated back to the Thunder Give Back cause, by visiting ECHLThunder.com/donate. The ticket sales are online only, however fans can also donate at games by bringing a sports ball or piece of athletic equipment to donate to the Glens Falls Youth Center or a package of toilet paper or paper towels to donate to the WAIT House. All fans that donate at the game will also receive the free hot dog and soda at the game.

At the games on December 27 and January 6, the Thunder Wives will have a table set up in the lobby with raffle items, with all proceeds benefitting the Thunder Give Back initiative. Thunder players, coaches and staff have also pledged donations to the cause and these funds will be included in the final donation amount during the month of January.

The Thunder for three additional games in December on the 23rd, 27th and 31st. Visit ECHLThunder.com for all the details on tickets for December home games.

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