The Adirondack Thunder and Reading Royals met on Friday Night for one of the most exciting games of the ECHL season. Ryan Conroy and C.J. Valerian would get the party started at the 8:48 mark of the opening frame for the game’s first fight. Coming into tonight, Adirondack had only scored the first goal in seven of their first 21 games, but on Friday, it would be Patrick Polino who came down the wing and fired a wrist shot to get the Thunder on the board at the 9:21 mark of the first period. Tag Bertuzzi, who has looked solid since coming down from Utica as a Reading turnover, ended up on his stick, and he fired a one-time to beat Keith Petruzzeli at the 15:15 mark to give the Thunder a 2-0 lead.
As the period came to a close, we had some pushing and shoving, and out of nowhere, It would be the two goaltenders who dropped the gloves as David Fessenden, in his third pro start, would meet Keith Petruzzeli at center ice for a good ol fashioned goalie fight. Fessenden would win the fight, and it appeared as if Petruzzeli suffered an injury in the fight as well.
Vinnie Purpura took over between the pipes to start the second for the Royals and didn’t have an easy task as the Thunder started the period with five-on-three. Tag Bertuzzi would continue to stay hot as he would beat Purpura short-side for his second of the game and third goal in his last three games since coming back from the Utica Comets. Zach Bannister would join the party 1:18 after the Burtuzzi goal to make it 4-0. Todd Skirving would find the back of the net for his second goal in three games, but it wouldn’t be enough, as Adirondack has now the last three games at Santander Arena dating back to last season.
The story of the night was David Fessenden, who’s 2-0 vs Reading this season after making 23 saves on Friday Night and would finish the night with seven penalty minutes. His strong play has given Pete MacArthur yet another option in net. I would expect Fessenden to see at least one more start in the calendar year, as Adirondack plays four games in four different cities in five nights after they return from the Holiday Break. The Thunder and Royals will now make their way up to Glens Falls, NY, for the second game of the weekend tomorrow night.
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