THUNDER WIN IN OVERTIME 5-4 FOR EIGHTH WIN IN A ROW

ST. JOHN’S – Zach Walker scored 4:14 into overtime to give the Adirondack Thunder a 5-4 victory on Saturday night over the Newfoundland Growlers in front of 5,259 at Mary Brown’s Centre. The win was Adirondack’s eighth straight win and set a record for most wins in a row in Thunder history.

Adirondack opened the scoring with 3:57 left in the first period as Shane Harper set up Patrick Grasso for his 17th of the season. Assists were credited to Harper and Yushiroh Hirano to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead.

Erik Middendorf made it 2-0 with just over 47 seconds left in the first. After Brendan Less was denied twice by goaltender Vyacheslav Peksa, the puck slid out of the crease and Middendorf sent a back hand shot through his legs and into the net. The goal was Middendorf’s 16th of the year from Less and the Thunder took the two-goal lead into the intermission.

Newfoundland came back to tie the game in the second period. Tate Singleton scored both goals for the Growlers in the middle frame at 12:22 on the power play and 18:23 on a wrist shot from the right circle. The game was tied 2-2 after two periods with the Thunder holding a 20-13 shot advantage.

In the third period, Yushiroh Hirano fired a one timer by goaltender Vyacheslav Peksa to give the Thunder a one-goal lead. Assists on the power-play goal were given to Shane Harper and Timur Ibragimov at 6:49 of the third for a 3-2 lead.

The Growlers scored two more in the third period off the stick of Isaac Johnson to take a 4-3 lead. Johnson’s first came on the power play at 13:29 and the go-ahead goal was tallied at 15:10 to take a one-goal lead.

Timur Ibragimov tied the game with 3:45 remaining in regulation on the power play. Ibragimov took the puck on the left side and sent a shot into the net for his fourth goal of the year. The lone assist went to Matt Stief to tie the game 4-4 and eventually force overtime.

In overtime, Ryan Smith set up Zach Walker on an odd-man rush and Walker went top shelf to give the Thunder a 5-4 win at 4:14 of the extra period. Tyler Brennan picked up the win with 22 saves.

The series in Newfoundland ends tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. EST. After two weeks on the road, the Thunder return for a home tripleheader January 26 – 28 at Cool Insuring Arena! Drink special on January 26 and 27 with Affiliate Night on January 27. The Thunder will wear special New Jersey Devils themed jerseys with a special appearance from the Devils’ mascot, NJ Devil!

The 2023-24 regular season schedule is HERE.

Single game tickets and season tickets for the 2023-24 season are on sale now! 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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