THUNDER NAIL WHEELING 3-2 IN OVERTIME

Glens Falls, NY – The Adirondack Thunder won in overtime for the second straight game as they downed the Wheeling Nailers by a 3-2 final on Sunday afternoon at Cool Insuring Arena.

Adirondack got goals in regulation from forwards Pierre-Luc Mercier and Terrence Wallin, in addition to the overtime game-winner from defenseman Desmond Bergin. Tomas Sholl made 39 saves as he remained unbeaten in regulation in his Thunder career with his fifth victory of the season.

Adirondack opened up a 2-0 lead in the first period, beginning with Mercier’s 14th tally of the season 12:38 into the game. After a Wheeling turnover in its own zone, Mercier and forward Austin Orszulak executed a give-and-go play that resulted in Mercier’s tap in goal at the left post. The hosts struck again with 3:51 left in the first period as Wallin scored a power-play goal for the 2-0 advantage. Thunder forward Troy Bourke fed Wallin in front of the net and the UMass-Lowell graduate dragged the puck to his forehand and around Wheeling netminder Colin Stevens for the goal.

After the Nailers controlled play for the majority of the second period, they finally solved Sholl with 22 seconds remaining as forward Freddie Tiffels fired through traffic for his eighth goal of the season. After he collected the puck in the high slot, Tiffels danced around the Adirondack defense and shot past Sholl through a screen for his team’s first goal. Defenseman Ross McMullan and forward Troy Josephs collected the assists on the play, McMullan’s sixth of the season.

Adirondack returned fire just past the midway point of the second period to take the lead for the second time on the evening. At the 11:33 mark of the middle stanza, Bourke collected the puck on the left wing, skated around the Reading net and sent the puck off of a Royals’ defenseman and past Dekanich for the go-ahead goal, his fourth tally of the season. Forward Shane Conacher picked up the lone assist on the play, his 32nd of the season.

Wheeling capitalized on the momentum that it built at the end of the second period and tied the game less than four minutes into the third. A shot from the left point by forward Marcus Basara was met by the pad of Sholl but went no further than Tiffels, who went to his backhand for the tying goal. Tiffels’ tally was his second of the evening and ninth of the season while Basara collected the lone assist on the play, his sixth helper of the season.

After neither team was able to break the deadlock in regulation, the two teams went into overtime, Adirondack’s fourth straight overtime game. Wallin hit Bergin with a stretch pass and the Harvard graduate put a silky forehand-to-backhand move on Stevens for the game-winning goal, his 13th tally of the season. Wallin and Mercier collected the assists on the play, the second point of the evening for both players.

The Thunder are back in action next weekend as they travel to New Hampshire for games against the Manchester Monarchs on Friday and Saturday. Visit ECHLThunder.com or call 518-480-3355 x1 to get tickets for all upcoming Thunder home games.

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