The Adirondack Thunder welcomed back Shane Harper on Friday Night after he announced that he was coming back to the team and played in both of the team’s home games over the weekend, “I felt a little better than I expected, I was just worried about my leg, playing at this high of a pace, you don’t forget, but you lose the pace, even in practice, they guys were flying, I just tried to play, smart and chip in on the PP, it would have been nice to get one on the PP” said Harper after Friday Night’s game. Adirondack dropped two of three games this weekend, but for the team, it was a very strong showing, and guys stepped up, including Jack Jeffers, who finished the weekend with four points over the weekend “Ya, it means a lot; coach trusts me out there and I’m playing with great players and that makes it easy for me” said Jeffers. Let’s take a deeper look at all three games over the weekend for the Thunder.
Slow Start Sinks Adirondack’s Point Streak
GLENS FALLS, NY- The Adirondack Thunder have struggled with slow starts all season; however, tonight’s game was the team’s worst first period all season as Ryan Foss got the Admirals on the board at the 3:15 mark of the opening frame, and then just 18 seconds later, a deflection from Keaton Jameson doubled the Railers lead, but they weren’t done as Mathieu Roy would make it a 3-0 game just 1:03 after the Jameson goal and with three goals in 1:21 the Adirmals had a commanding lead and Tyler Brennan who was making his first start since opening night in Worcester would be pulled less than five minutes into the game after giving up three goals on six shots, and Jeremy Broduer would come in relief of Brennan, “It’s definitely not a familiar spot, but I’ve done it before, and it’s a nice change of pace, and we almost made a comeback, and I like how we played the last two periods” said Broduer. Brodeur would come in and have a solid appearance, stopping 28 shots of the 30 shots he faced, including a Carson Golder break-away to give Norfolk a 4-0 lead. Down four, Adirondack needed something to work with, and they got that as Ryan Wheeler, who would have a wide empty net after contact was made with Milic, would make no mistake and net his first of the season at the 18:04 mark in the period, Adirondack was outshot 24-6 in the opening frame which is a season-high for both sides.
The second period was a breath of fresh air for the Thunder as Jace Isley made a few nice moves and netted his first professional goal of his career at the 6:31 mark of the second, “Ya, It felt really good. I just wish we picked up the win so it felt a little better, but that’s how it goes sometimes” when asked about it. The Thunder would make it a one-goal game as Travis Broughman had a great shot that went over Milic to make it a one-goal game at the 11:28 mark of the second, however, that’s as close as they would get as Mathieu Roy added a PP goal late in the third and Derick Fensore hit an empty net as the Admirals would go on to win this one by a score of 6-3 and it would be Thomas Milic, the Winnipeg Jets fifth-round draft pick from this year who’d pick up the win in net stopping 18 of 21 shots he faced for his fourth win of the year as he has yet to lose a game in regulation. “We weren’t anywhere near where we’ve been the last four games; when you have to expend that much energy to try and come back, the other team can really control what you want to do. Jeremy did a great job being ready and gave us a chance to win the game, we lost 6-3, but if we get a bounce, it’s 4-4; that being said, we got what we deserved: a loss,” said Head Coach Pete MacArthur. The loss ended a four-game point streak for the Thunder
Jeremy Brodeur Shines as Adirondack Continues To Shine On The Road
The Adirondack Thunder headed to Maine for the middle game of their North Divison three in three as they faced the Maine Mariners, who they lost to in OT during their home opener back on October 28th. The Thunder were coming off a game in which they allowed three goals in the first five minutes, however tonight, it would be the Thunder who got on the board first as Jack Jeffers fed Patrick Grasso on a two-on-one to open the scoring at the 11:31 mark of the opening frame, which is the fastest goal scored by the Thunder this season, and just 35 seconds later the Thunder would get another two-on-one this time it would be Ryan Smith who scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season as he decided to take the shot on the two-on-one, and found the back of the net as the Thunder went to the locker room up 2-0 in what was a very physical first period where the Thunder outshot the Mariners 14-6 in the opening frame. In the second, both Jack Jeffers and Tristan Ashbrook would pick up their first two goals of their professional careers to make it a 4-0 game after two periods of play.
Jeremy Brodeur had a solid weekend as he stopped 28 shots in relief on Friday Night, and was a little over five minutes away from picking up his first career ECHL shutout before Austin Albreit found the back of the net for his first of the season, however, Brodeur turned away the rest of the 33 shots that he faced on Saturday Night. This win was not only a bounce-back win for the Thunder, but a statement win as Shane Harper and Grant Jozefek were both missing from the lineup, as Head Coach Pete MacArthur said after Friday’s game, “It’s gonna have to be a win-by-committee game” and that’s exactly what the team did tonight and shows how much depth is on this team despite the amount of injuries and call-ups that the team has been faced with so far.
Jack Jeffers and Ryan Smith Stay Hot as Thunder Drop Battle With North’s Top Team
Glens Falls, NY- The Adirondack Thunder finished their first three-in-three of the season as they faced off against the Trois-Rivieres Lions, a team who had Saturday off, but Adirondack seemed to have their legs for the final game of the weekend, including Jack Jeffers, “Ya it’s always tough playing a three-in-three, I haven’t played one in almost six years, a bit of an adjustment but I think we played well” when asked how he felt after the three in three, Jeffers said, “Pretty tired for sure, but the more three-threes I take part in it will get easier.” In the opening frame, both teams would have their chances as the Thunder had two chances on the PP, including one four-minute power-play where they couldn’t find the back of the net, but after the opening frame, neither team would find the back of the net, however, Adirondack led in the shot category 13-10. After a scoreless opening frame, the Lions got on the board just 31 seconds after the opening faceoff as Anthony Beauregard found a rebound off a shot from Cedric Montminy and put it past Purpura, however, that lead would only last a minute as Ryan Smith would score on a second chance opportunity for his team-leading sixth goal of the season as he now has points in six of the eight Thunder games this season,” Pucks are just going in for me I guess” said Smith. Will MacKinnon would introduce himself to the home crowd as he dropped the gloves with Nolan Yaremenko and would finish the game a goal away from a Gordie Howe Hattrick before both teams would head back to locker rooms knotted up at one, “Ya, that definitely felt good, obviously wanted to get the win more than anything, we gotta keep going from here and learn to win one-goal hockey games” said MacKinnon.
It would be another early goal that would give TR the lead as Miguel Tourigny would find the back of the net 27 seconds into the third. Once again, Adirondack would have a response as Patrick Grasso got a nice pass from Colin Felix for his third of the season to tie the game up at two. Trois-Rivieres would get the lead back as Justin Ducharme would win a race to the puck against Matt Stief and would find Jakov Novak in front to give the Lions a 3-2 lead and one that they would hold until the final whistle. Zachary Emond would get the win for the Lions in his first start of the season, making 27 saves, and Vinne Purpura would suffer the first regulation loss of his pro career, making 26 saves on the night. “We played a three in three with less and less rest, and I’m really proud of how the boys played,” said Head Coach Pete MacArthur.
Adirondack will now head to Norfolk for a two-game set next weekend on Friday and Sunday.
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