ECHL: Henri Tikkanen’s Career Day Spoiled By Adirondack Thunder

The Adirondack Thunder have now picked up at least one point in four straight games and now are on a three-game winning streak after beating the Worcester Railers and Henrik Tikkanen 4-3 in a shootout. Adirondack got off to a quick start as Erik Middendorf, who’s had hot stick lately, found a deflection off a shot from Matt Stief on the PP to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead, and less than two minutes later, Yushiro Hirano took advantage of a Railers turnover and made it a 2-0 game. Worcester would get a PP to start the second after Patrick Grasso took a penalty at the end of the first, and they would take advantage as Jake Pivonka found the back of the net on the PP. In a period in which saw the Thunder outshoot the Railers 13-4 but, it would be Ashton Calder who would find the back of the net at the 16:28 mark as Worcester converted on half of their shots in the second to make it a 2-2 game, however, Ryan Smith came back and gave Adirondack the lead 48 seconds after the Calder goal.

The PK for Adirondack has been struggling lately as early in the third, the Thunder would take another penalty, and the Railers would take advantage as Anthony Callin found the back of the net at the 3:30 mark. It would be another period dominated by the Thunder, but Henri Tikkanen had a hell of a game stopping 52 of the 55 shots that he’d face and would get the Railers to OT. Those 52 saves were a career-high for Tikkanen and the most by any Railers goaltender in a home game. Neither team scored in OT, and it would be Yushiro Hirano who scored in the first round of the shootout and Erik Middendorf in the third as the Thunder escaped Worcester with another two points. Vinnie Purpura picked up his second win after getting the nod for the third consecutive game and would make 25 saves and two more in the shootout. 

Adirondack will begin a three-in-three on Friday as they welcome the Norfolk Admirals to town before heading to Maine on Saturday and finishing the weekend with an afternoon game in Glens Falls vs the red-hot Trois-Rivieres Lions.