The Adirondack Thunder now have their longest winning streak of the year, as they have now won five straight games after beating the Maine Mariners on Friday and Saturday Night and will go for six in a row this afternoon vs Trois-Rivieres Lions. Adirondack got a ton of contributions from Timor Ibragov (4G,1A) and Topias Vilen(3G,1A), who were both sent down from Utica earlier this week. Patrick Grasso would end up breaking the franchise record for goals, passing Brian Ward, as Grasso now has 78 goals in his career with the Thunder. Let’s take a deeper dive into how Adirondack would come up with the first two wins to start the three-in-three weekend.
T is For Teamwork as Topias and Tristan Lead Thunder To Victory
It was a big night for Tristan Thompson and Tobias Vilen as they combined for six points on Friday Night as the Thunder beat Maine 5-2. Tristan Thompson would open up the scoring for the Thunder as he took advantage of a Maine turnover and found the back of the net for his eighth of the season to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead. Adirondack’s PP hasn’t been as dominant as it was earlier in the season, and on their PK of the game, Reid Stefanson would find Alex Kile for his team-leading 15th goal of the season. Ashbrook would strike again at the 11:10 mark of the period as he deflected a Shane Harper shot past Francois Brassard for his second of the game as Adirondack would lead by one after one, and Ashbrook would finish the night with two goals and two assists, “That felt good, everyone was playing great tonight, and I saw the benefit of that on a few plays tonight but ya It definitely feels good to contribute in that way” said Ashbrook. The second period was a dominant one for the Thunder, and they would get rewarded for it as Timor Ibragimov would feed Tristan Thompson for a one-timer and his third goal, and second in three games.
It wouldn’t take Adirondack long to find the back of the net as Topias Vilen would find the back of the net eight seconds in, but he wasn’t done as he would score just 3:47 for his third goal in as many games. “That felt great, I’ve scored my first three goals of the season in these last two games, so it feels good,” said Vilen. Adirondack had a five-goal lead, and things would start to get a little chippy after Alex Kile scored and said something to Darian Skeoch, which got everyone riled up and started a third period that saw 44 penalty minutes between the two teams, as Skeoch and Kile each got matching 10-minute misconducts for inciting. Jace Isley would get tied up on the ice with Alex Sheehy, and Gabe Guertler looked to be the third man in, but Darien Kielb getting a two and a ten for unsportsmanlike penalties as Alex Sheehy, Brendan Less, and Jace Isley would all get roughing penalties on the game. Less had a strong night for Adirondack as he picked up two assists on the night and stuck up for his teammates; Less came into Friday Night with one assist in 9 games on the season, “Ya, it feels really good, obviously when you’re out of the lineup it’s tough, I’m happy to be back and playing with these guys it means the world to be back” said Less. Neither team would find the back of the net in the second half of the third as the ECHL Rookie of The Month got his 10th win of the season.
Ibragamov’s Hatty Leads Thunder Comeback
The Adirondack Thunder came into Saturday a little short-handed with no Shane Harper, Darion Skeoch, and Yushiro Hirano, but this is a team that has depth and came out with the win still being a man short. Adirondack was shutout the last time they were in Maine, and it would be the Mariners who got on the board first as Cam Askew got a deflection off a shot from Gabriel Chicoine and got his second of the season. Timor Ibragimov would open the scoring as the Utica connection got the party started as Topias Vilen fed Ibragimov for his first of his season. At the 10:59 mark of the period, Nico Blachman and Adam Mechura ended up dropping the gloves, which ended up developing behind the play. Still, the two of them would end up behind the net and Askew would also come in to join, but he would be the third man in and would get a ten and a game for it. Zach Walker would give the Thunder lead as he came down the wing and would get denied by Kyle Keyser on his first attempt but found his own rebound and put it home for his second goal of the season as Adirondack would go into the locker room up 2-1. Alex Kile has enjoyed playing Adirondack this season as coming into the game he had six goals and three assists for nine points against the Thunder and would score two goals 16 seconds apart from each other as Maine quickly had their lead back. Adam Mechura would add another goal in the second as the Mariners held a two-goal lead heading into the third.
Adirondack would come out with a purpose in the third, and it would be Patrick Grasso, whose shot from just below the blueline would find the back of the net for his 78th career goal, breaking Brian Ward’s record for franchise goals and put the Thunder within one. With 2:30 left in the game, it would be Ibragamov who would come down the wing and fire one from the circle to tie the game and send it to OT. The Russian forward would complete the hat-trick as Ryan Smith fed Ibagamov in front to complete the hat-trick and send the Thunder back to Glens Falls with the extra point. Matt Stief would finish the night with four assists as well.
