Manchester, NH – The Adirondack Thunder defeated the Manchester Monarchs by a 3-2 final in triple overtime of Game 6 on Monday evening at SNHU Arena. With the victory, the Thunder claimed the North Division Finals by a final of four games to two and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history, where they will take on the Florida Everblades.
Defenseman Mathieu Brodeur scored the game-winning goal 8:08 into overtime, while forward Brian Ward and defenseman Dylan Olsen also found the back of the net. Goaltender Drew Fielding made 53 saves as he earned his fourth victory of the postseason.
Manchester opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game as defenseman David Kolomatis tallied his second goal of the postseason. With the puck at the right point, Kolomatis sent a shot that eluded traffic in front and past Fielding for the game’s first goal. Forwards Tony Cameranesi and Joel Lowry collected the assists on the play, Cameranesi’s second of the series.
Adirondack knotted the game at one just shy of the midway point of the first as Olsen collected his first tally of the 2018 playoffs. With the Thunder on the man advantage, forward Mike Szmatula fed Olsen at the center point, where he sent a wrist shot through a screen in front and past Manchester netminder Charles Williams for the goal. Szmatula and forward Brian Ward collected the assists on the play, Szmatula’s fourth point in two nights.
The Monarchs regained their one-goal advantage 6:21 into the second period as Kolomatis collected his second tally of the evening. The Manchester blueliner took a feed from Cameranesi at the right point and sent a seeing-eye shot through a sea of bodies in front that found the back of the net for the go-ahead goal. Cameranesi and forward Matt Marcinew collected the assists on the play, Cameranesi’s second of the evening.
The Thunder struck back just over three minutes later as Ward collected his fifth goal of the postseason at the 9:41 mark of the middle stanza. Defenseman Blake Thompson walked the blueline from right to left and sent a shot towards the net that was redirected by Ward, past Williams for the tying goal. Thompson and forward Pierre-Luc Mercier tallied assists on the play, Mercier’s fourth of the 2018 playoffs.
After more than 60 minutes of scoreless hockey, Brodeur sent the Thunder to the Eastern Conference Finals with the game-winning goal. Forward James Henry held the puck in the offensive zone for an extended period of time before he fed a cross-ice pass to Brodeur, who one-timed it home for the game winner. Henry and forward Paul Rodrigues collected the assists on the play, Henry’s team-leading 12th of the playoffs.
The Thunder season will continue in the Eastern Conference Finals, which will begin on Friday evening against the Florida Everblades. Adirondack will be home for two guaranteed games, and one additional game if necessary. The full Round 3 schedule will be released tomorrow. Visit ECHLThunder.com or call 518-480-3355 for more information on Round 3 of the 2018 Kelly Cup Playoffs.
