Glens Falls, NY – The Adirondack Thunder defeated the Manchester Monarchs by a 3-1 final in a penalty-filled victory on Wednesday evening at Cool Insuring Arena.
The two teams combined for 88 penalty minutes, including a season-high 37 for the Thunder. Adirondack got a goal and an assist from forward Troy Bourke in his first game in the lineup since opening night, in addition to two points from both James Henry and Ty Loney. Goaltender Nick Riopel turned aside 20 of the 21 shots he faced as he earned his ninth win of the season.
Manchester opened the scoring just 25 seconds into the game as defenseman David Kolomatis picked up his third goal of the season. Kolomatis fired through traffic that was deflected by what was deemed an Adirondack stick and past Riopel for the goal. The tally was originally disallowed by the officials for high sticking but was reversed to a good goal upon a conference. Forward Matt Leitner picked up the lone assist on the play, his 22nd of the season.
Adirondack scored a pair of goals on special teams early in the first period, beginning with a power-play goal from Loney at the 1:53 mark of the opening period. Bourke skated behind the Manchester net and dropped a feed to Loney in front, where he beat Manchester netminder Charles Williams for his 15th goal of the season. Bourke collected the lone assist on the play, his second of the season.
Less than five minutes later, the Thunder struck again as forward Paul Rodrigues led a 2-on-1 rush down the right wing while shorthanded, beat a Manchester defenseman and fed Henry across the crease for the goal, Henry’s ninth of the season. The tally was Henry’s third shorthanded goal of the season which ties him with two other players for the ECHL league lead. Rodrigues and defenseman Desmond Bergin picked up the assists on the play, Bergin’s 15th of the season.
The Thunder increased their advantage to a pair of goals 3:14 into the third period as Bourke picked up his second point of the evening with his third goal of the season. After Loney took a feed from Henry in the offensive zone, the 6-4 winger fed Bourke in the right-hand circle, where he one-timed the pass past Williams for the insurance marker. Loney and Henry picked up the helpers on the play, the second point of the evening for both players.
The Thunder are back in action this weekend as they take on the Reading Royals in a home-and-home set, including Sunday evening at Cool Insuring Arena. Tickets are 2 for $20.18 for Sunday’s 5:00 p.m. puck drop and are available by visiting ECHLThunder.com/nye.
