MANCHESTER, N.H. – Kevin Dufour scored 6:17 into the overtime period as the Manchester Monarchs won 3-2 Wednesday night to take a 3-0 series lead over the Adirondack Thunder in the North Division Semifinals.
Drake Rymsha scored the lone goal of the opening 20 minutes when he converted on a rebound to give Manchester a 1-0 lead with 5:08 remaining. Pierre-Luc Mercier took a bad-angle shot from the red-line extended that Evan Cormier kicked aside, but the puck went directly to Rymsha who was camped on the doorstep and he tapped home.
Cullen Bradshaw scored a pair of power-play goals less than five minutes apart to give Adirondack a 2-1 lead in the second period. Peter MacArthur was stationed at the top of the right circle and fed Bradshaw, camped in front of the net, with a crisp pass that got redirected past Charles Williams to tie the game.
Bradshaw scored again on an extremely similar set-up to give Adirondack its only lead of the night. MacArthur smacked a loose puck towards the open cage that got deflected off a Monarchs defenseman and right back to him. The alternate captain for the Thunder went directly back to Bradshaw who got another goal off a deflection.
Michael Doherty tied the game before the end of the second frame on another rebound opportunity for Manchester. Cormier made his initial save on a shot from Sam Kurker but could not locate the rebound as the puck was still between his legs. Doherty charged the net and poked the puck home to make it a 2-2 game.
After neither team could score in the third period, Game 3 extended into overtime for the first time this series. Dufour collected a loose puck off a turnover and ripped a wrister that got Cormier in the chest before trickling into the net to end the game.
Adirondack and Manchester will meet for Game 4 Friday night at SNHU Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. in New Hampshire. For the latest Thunder news, follow the team on all social media @ECHLThunder.
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