PORTLAND – Despite losing a 5-0 lead to the Maine Mariners, the Adirondack Thunder came away with two points in a 6-5 shootout victory at Cross Insurance Arena on Wednesday night. With the victory, the Thunder can clinch a playoff spot with a win on Friday in Trois-Rivieres.

Adirondack exploded for four goals in the first period. Alex Campbell opened the scoring on a rebound, sending it by the right arm of goaltender Bran Arvanitis for the 1-0 lead. The goal was Campbell’s ninth of the year with assists from Conner Hutchison and Matt Salhany just 2:25 into the game.

Tanner Edwards laid a big hit behind the net in the offensive zone to create a turnover that led to a goal. Edwards hit forced a bad pass up to the point and Jeremy Hanzel sent a shot through traffic and into the net for a 2-0 lead. The goal was Hanzel’s sixth of the year, unassisted, just 3:42 into the game.

The Thunder took a 3-0 lead on the power play as Kevin O’Neil took a pass from Jeremy Hanzel and walked into the right circle firing a wrister into the net. The goal was O’Neil’s second since returning to Adirondack at 10:05 of the first period. The goal forced a goaltending change as Luke Cavallin came in to replace Brad Arvanitis.

Right after the goaltending change, the Thunder took a 4-0 lead on a highlight-reel play from Brian Carrabes and Patrick Grasso. Carrabes went through the defense and spun a pass across to Grasso, and he lifted a backhand shot over the right shoulder of Luke Cavallin. The goal was Grasso’s 14th of the year from Carrabes at 12:34 of the first, and the Thunder took that lead into the intermission.

Patrick Grasso gave Adirondack a 5-0 lead early in the second period with help from Kevin O’Neil and Brian Carrabes. After taking the puck down the ice, Carrabes left it for O’Neil, and he tapped it over to Grasso for a one timer that beat Luke Cavallin. The goal was Grasso’s second of the game and 15th of the year just 2:35 into the second.

Maine got on the board on the power play 7:13 into the second as Brooklyn Kalmikov beat Tyler Brennan on the left side for his 20th of the season. Robert Cronin and Nick Anderson were awarded assists and the Thunder lead decreased to 5-1 after two periods.

The Mariners stormed back in the third with four goals to force overtime. Sebastian Vidmar and Antonio Venuto scored low-angle goals in the first 3:27 of the third to decrease Adirondack’s lead to 5-3 with 16:33 left in the game.

Robert Cronin cashed in on the power play to pull within a goal at the 8:56 mark of the third. The goal was Maine’s third power-play goal in the game and was assisted by Brooklyn Kalmikov and Nick Anderson and the Thunder lead was 5-4.

Just 1:02 later, Zach Jordan tipped a Nick Anderson shot past Tyler Brennan and into the net to complete the five-goal comeback. The goal was Jordan’s 14th of the year at 9:58 of the third to tie the game 5-5.

After no scoring in the rest of the third or overtime, the game went to a shootout. Patrick Grasso and Kevin O’Neil scored in the shootout and Tyler Brennan stopped two of three for the extra point and the 6-5 victory.

The Adirondack Thunder returns to Harding Mazzotti Arena for Fan Appreciation Weekend against Trois-Rivieres this Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy giveaways and drink specials both games and Sunday you could win a jersey off a player’s back.

Single game tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now! Great ticket packages, including season tickets, are still available! For more information, 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).