ADIRONDACK DROPS GAME IN OVERTIME AFTER CONTROVERSIAL NO CALL

GLENS FALLS, NY – After Peter MacArthur was tripped up in the offensive zone, Beast forward Jackson Leef took the puck the length of the ice and slid a shot past Alex Sakellaropoulos to give Brampton a 5-4 overtime victory at Cool Insuring Arena Saturday night. 

MacArthur maintained offensive-zone possession in the 3-on-3 session before he had his feet taken out from under him that led to the Brampton 2-on-1 rush where Leef ended the game.

After Aaron Luchuk gave the Beast a 1-0 lead, Cullen Bradshaw tied the game for the Thunder at the 11:55 mark of the opening period. Szmatula created the action after he forced a neutral-zone turnover, took the puck down the left wing and behind the net before spinning and centering a back-door pass for Bradshaw to collect an easy tap-in.

Jordan Henry regained the lead for the Beast with a 4-on-4 tally, but Szmatula tied it again with his tenth score of the year before the end of the first stanza. With Adirondack on the power play, Kelly Summers took the original shot from the left point that boomed off the pads of Beast goalie Jake Paterson. Conor Riley corralled the rebound and slid a pass to Szmatula sitting on the doorstep to tie the game at two goals apiece.

Adirondack took its first lead of the night when Brian Ward collected a loose puck in the slot and roofed a wrist shot top shelf past Paterson for a 3-2 Thunder lead. Shane Conacher led the Thunder charge on this occasion, firing a pass that got tied up in front of the net. The puck found its way to Ward’s stick and he potted his fifth score of the season in his first game since returning from a five-game suspension.

Chris Martenet scored next for the game’s fourth tie, but Thunder forward John Edwardh gave Adirondack a 4-3 lead before the close of the middle frame. After Sakellaropoulos made a tremendous save in the Thunder defensive end, Matt Salhany led the odd-man rush which ended with Michael Sdao launching a bomb of a slap-shot from the right point. Paterson made the first stop but Edwardh was in front to clean up the rebound for his third goal in two nights.

The 4-3 score held until the final 10 seconds of regulation when Jordan Henry nabbed the tying goal off a goalmouth scramble with 6.4 seconds remaining. Sakellaropoulos made the initial save but the puck squirted off his pad to Henry who knocked it home to tie the game. Leef potted the goal in overtime to give Brampton the extra point.

The Thunder are off until next weekend when they head to Portland to take on the Maine Mariners Friday night. The squad returns home for Saturday’s MARVEL night and Teddy Bear Toss game against the Manchester Monarchs.

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