Thunder Stay Perfect on Home Ice, Beat Mariners 5-2

GLENS FALLS, NY – The Adirondack Thunder saw five different goal scorers hit the back of the net on Wednesday as they downed the Maine Mariners by a final score of 5-2.James Henry, Antoine Waked, Hayden Verbeek, Casey Pierro-Zabotel and Matt Salhany each recorded their first goal of the 2019-20 season as the Thunder moved to 3-1-0-1. Adirondack pushed 25 shots on goal against Maine netminder Tom McCollum, while Michael McNiven stopped 26 of 28 to secure his first win of the year. The Thunder struck on the powerplay for the first time since October 11th, game one of the 2019-20 season, and finished 2-for-3 on the man advantage. The Mariners failed to capitalize on any of their three opportunities. Scoring Plays

• Adirondack netted their first shorthanded goal of the season after Hayden Verbeek forced a turnover at the blueline. Casey Pierro-Zabotel finished off a Verbeek pass to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead 7:01 into the first period. 
• While the Thunder were on their first powerplay of the game, forward Antoine Waked picked up his first goal of the season. James Henry and Mike Szmatula forced a goalmouth scramble and goaltender Tom McCollum could not recover. Adirondack took a 2-0 lead at 14:34 of the first. 
• The Mariners pulled within one by scoring the only goal of the second period when Jake Elmer made no mistake on a backdoor feed from Scott Savage at 13:36. Michael McNicholas was credited with the secondary assist. 
• It took the Thunder just 47 seconds to cash in on the powerplay to kick off the third period. James Henry received a pass from Charlie Curti and ripped it over the glove of McCollum to extend Adirondack's lead to two once again. 
• 45 seconds later, Matt Salhany found himself behind the Mariners defense and beat McCollum clean for his first of the season. Casey Pierro-Zabotel and Conor Riley on the assists at 1:32 of the third. 
• Maine made it a 4-2 game at 12:43 when Ryan Dmowski converted on a Gabriel Verpaelst turnover. The goal was Dmowski's first of the season, unassisted. 
• The Thunder sealed it with an empty-netter with 2:38 to go in regulation. Hayden Verbeek grabbed the puck from Robbie Payne and notched his first of the year to make it 5-2.

Thunder Notes

• James Henry's first game of the 2019-20 season: 1G, 1A, 2 shots
• Casey Pierro-Zabotel tallied his first goal as a member of the Thunder in a two-point performance
• Michael McNiven stood tall for a bounce-back performance to grab his first win in a Thunder sweater

Up NextThe Thunder will face the Worcester Railers on Friday night for Military Appreciation Night! Get your tickets HERE and don't miss out on any of the action!  Follow the ThunderFor more information on the Adirondack Thunder, follow along on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (@ECHLThunder) and on the web at ECHLThunder.com

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