ESTERO, FL – Brian Ward recorded his second multi-goal effort of the season, John Edwardh extended his point streak to eight consecutive games and Evan Cormier won his first game in a Thunder sweater as the Adirondack Thunder skated past the Florida Everblades by a 3-1 final Friday night at Hertz Arena.
Ward scored a pair of power-play goals on the night, the first coming with 93 seconds remaining in the opening period. On the 4-on-3 advantage, Edwardh fed Ward with a cross-ice pass in the left faceoff circle. The Thunder’s all-time leading goal scorer added another to this total when he popped the short-side top corner past Jamie Phillips for a 1-0 Thunder lead.
Florida attempted to regain control in the middle frame when Stathis Soumelidis picked up his first career ECHL goal. Kyle Platzer led the 2-on-1 charge for Florida and fed the Czech forward who had an easy tap-in for his first goal.
Ward restored the Thunder lead less than nine minutes later when he converted on the power play for the second time. The St. Lawrence University product had his initial shot blocked by a sprawling Everblades defender, but he regathered and flipped a quick wrister top-shelf as Matt Salhany had an excellent screen in front. Edwardh picked up his second assist of the night that gave him a team-high 19 points on the power play.
Edwardh made it a three-point night when he tallied the game’s final goal at 17:27 of the second. Salhany sprung the rookie forward into the attacking zone with a feed and Edwardh took care of the rest. The UMass-Lowell product positioned his body perfectly to fend off the Florida defense and sunk his backhand shot into the net for a two-goal Thunder lead.
Evan Cormier picked up his first win as a member of the Adirondack Thunder in his fifth game played. The 21-year-old turned aside 26 of the 27 shots he faced, including all 11 Everblades attempts in the final twenty minutes.
After each side has won a game in the series’ first two meetings, the two teams will meet again tomorrow evening for the rubber match. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. from Hertz Arena in Estero, FL.
###Adirondack Thunder Hockey – This Is Our Team
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