The Adirondack Thunder came into Saturday Night needing a bounce-back performance after getting shutout for just the second time all season, with both times coming against the Maine Mariners. It would be a much better start for Adirondack as they would outshoot Maine 11-1 in the opening 10 minutes, but it would be the Mariners who would open up the scoring as Jace Isley would turn the puck over, and Alex Kile would find Chase Zieky who would sneak one past Brodeur for his fifth goal in his last six games and 16th of the season. In the second, Adirondack would finally get on the scoreboard as Matt Stief set up Yushiro Hirano on the power-play to tie the game up at one. The Hirano goal would give the Thunder more momentum, and at the 12:40 mark of the period, Hirano would feed Jace Isley, who picked up his first goal since December 17th vs Maine and his first point since January 28th vs Norfolk. Adirondack was hoping to carry the lead into the third, but the Mariners would get a three-on-two in the final seconds of the period, and it would be Ethan Richie who would finish off the odd-man rush to tie up the game with 32 seconds left in the period.
“Ya, felt really good honestly, I’ve had a couple bounces here that haven’t gone my way latley in those games but it feels good to get one here tonight”
Jace Isley on his first goal since December 17th
Maine would take the lead once again as Fedor Gordeev kept a puck in and fired one to the net, but it was Alex Kile who found the puck and back-handed one into the empty net with Jeremy Brodeur out of position for his team-leading 29th goal. The Thunder would have a golden opportunity to tie the game in the final two minutes as they would pull Brodeur for the extra attacker, and then Maine took a too-many-men call to give Adirondack a two-man advantage. It would only take 34 seconds for the Thunder to find the back of the net as Shane Harper would get credit for the goal as there was a scrum in front of Kyle Keyser, who was lying on his back when the puck went in, and it the refs would take a second look at it but the Thunder goal would stick and would send them to their league-leading 20th overtime game.
The Thunder, in a game where they needed that second point, would get it as Grant Jozefek would find the back of the net at the 3:28 mark of the OT period as the Thunder tied the South Carolina Stingrays for the league lead with eight wins in overtime, “It’s definitely been a bit of a struggle putting the puck in the net for me this year for me, that one feel really good, I kinda felt it coming I’ve had a lot of chances over the past couple weeks, so it feels good that they’re starting to go in” said Jozefek when asked about scoring the game-winning goal, that was also Jozefek’s first goal on home-ice this year. Jeremy Brodeur would make 26 saves for his 17th win of the season.
“Really big, we’ve been up against it here with the Wednesday games, some longer that expected bus rides and what not so it hit us right in the face, just said to the group your getting smacked like you did last night and it’s hard to come back and put it back together and kudos to the group for tying it back in here”
Pete MacArthur when asked about Saturday Night’s win
Both Ryan Smith and Yushiro Hirano skated in their 200th career ECHL games tonight, and Hirano made it memorable, finishing the night with a goal and three assists.
“Ya, it’s great, I had no idea that this was my 200th game, It’s been tough playing here in North America but it’s already been six years, it means a lot of things and I’m still learning a lot of things and I’m happy to have 200 games played in this league”
Yushiro Hirano on his 200th game
