THUNDER FORCE OT LATE IN 5-4 LOSS TO GROWLERS

ST. JOHN'S – The Adirondack Thunder scored twice in the final minute of regulation to force overtime in an eventual 5-4 loss to the Newfoundland Growlers on the road Wednesday night inside Mary Brown’s Centre.

Newfoundland took a 1-0 lead in the first period as Brett Budgell scored his 12th goal of the season from inside the left-wing circle. Nolan Walker and James Melindy were given the assists and Adirondack trailed by one goal after 20 minutes.

Budgell scored on the power play in the second period to give the Growlers a 2-0 lead. Inside the left circle, Budgell fired a wrist shot into the net for his 13th of the year at 9:52 with assists from Adam Holwell and Brandon Kruse.

Adirondack scored back-to-back power-play goals to tie the game at two. Patrick Grasso cashed in on the man advantage at 14:05 with his 27th of the year and Matt Stief fired in his first of the year with 0:36 left in the second and the score was 2-2. Shane Harper and Ryan Orgel had the assists on both power-play goals.

Just six seconds after the Thunder tied the game, Pavel Gogolev scored to give the Growlers a 3-2 lead after two periods. In the third, Jack Badini added to the Growlers’ lead with his seventh of the year at the 2:00 mark with the lone assist going to Brandon Kruse.

Ryan Smith and Matt Stief each scored in the final minute with the net empty to force overtime. Smith beat goaltender Keith Petruzzelli with 0:42 left in the third and Stief sent a wrister over Petruzzelli’s left shoulder to tie the game with 0:07 left. Shane Harper, Wayne Letourneau, and Travis Broughman recorded assists on the tying goals.

Zach O’Brien scored in overtime for the 5-4 win. Mike Robinson made 40 saves in the loss.

After a week on the road in Newfoundland, the Thunder host Stick it to Cancer Weekend on March 24 and 25 against Worcester. Paint the Ice Night is after the game on March 24 and specialty jerseys all weekend! Get your tickets by visiting the Thunder front office or by calling 518-480-3355.

For more information on ticket packages, call the front office at 518-480-3355 or visit www.ECHLThunder.com/tickets. For all the latest Adirondack Thunder news, follow the team on all social media @ECHLThunder.

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