THUNDER USE FOUR THIRD-PERIOD GOALS TO CROWN ROYALS 6-3

GLENS FALLS, NY – Hans Gorowsky netted his first two goals as a professional, Dylan Walchuk tallied the game-winning goal with 2:58 to play and the Adirondack Thunder used a little luck to top the Royals 6-3 on a St. Patrick’s Day Sunday matinee.

Gorowsky and Walchuk scored 29 seconds apart late in the third to quickly turn a one-goal deficit into a Thunder advantage. First, Gorowsky converted on a beautiful set-up from James Henry behind the net to tie the game at 3-3 with 3:27 to play in regulation. The Thunder captain held the puck behind Royals netminder Jamie Phillips before sliding a dime of a pass to the rookie forward in front of the cage where Gorowsky one-timed the puck in to force the tie.

Walchuk followed less than 30 seconds later when he pounced on a loose puck in front of the net to give Adirondack its second lead of the afternoon. Cullen Bradshaw did the dirty work behind the net and the puck squirted to an open area in front of the goalmouth. Walchuk fell down to his knees but still got enough on his poke to push it through the five-hole of Phillips and give the Thunder a lead they wouldn’t surrender.

After Kevin Goumas scored the only goal in the opening frame for Reading, Adirondack tied it off the stick of Kelly Summers just over seven minutes into the second. On a set play with an offensive-zone draw win, Peter MacArthur slid a pass to Michael Sdao at the right point. Sdao went D-to-D with Summers who blasted his one-timer off a loose Royals stick in front of the net and past Phillips to get Adirondack on the board.

Gorowsky’s first professional goal gave the Thunder a 2-1 lead at 11:48 of the second period. Andrew Tessier took the initial shot from the right point and the rebound trickled to the left of Phillips. Gorowsky swooped in to tap in the loose puck for his first goal in his second game played.

Reading retook its one-goal lead with two power-play goals late in the second – the first on a 5-on-3 with a slap-shot from Josh MacDonald before Chris McCarthy made it two quick scores on a tremendous redirection in front of Cam Johnson with just 18 seconds to play in the period.

Adirondack couldn’t muster a score until Gorowsky tied it at 16:33 of the final frame. The Thunder went on to score four goals in exactly three minutes to pull away from Reading.

After Walchuk gave Adirondack the 4-3 lead, Sdao and Mike Szmatula added empty-net goals to increase the advantage. The lengthy shot from Sdao gave him a multi-point effort on the night as he ended his 14-game pointless streak.

Cam Johnson, who was re-assigned to the Thunder earlier this morning from the AHL’s Binghamton Devils, made 29 stops in net for Adirondack and kept the Thunder in the game with a multitude of tremendous stops throughout the third period. It was a one-game stint for Johnson who will return to the AHL after today’s game.

The Thunder are off during the week before playing a pair of games in Brampton on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. For the latest Thunder news, follow the team on all social @ECHLThunder.

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