Adirondack Thunder Clinch Kelly Cup Playoff Berth with 4-3 Win over Manchester
April 9, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL) - Adirondack Thunder News Release
Manchester, NH - The Adirondack Thunder clinched a berth in the 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs with a 4-3 win over the Manchester Monarchs on Friday evening at Verizon Wireless Arena.
The Monarchs opened the scoring less than eight minutes into the game as Troy Power capitalized on a fortunate bounce to give his team a 1-0 lead. As Zac Larazza floated a shot from the point, Power got a stick on it and the puck popped up in the air and floated over Adirondack netminder Ken Appleby for Power's fifth tally of the season. Larazza and Danick Paquette collected the assists on the play, the tenth of the season for Larazza.
Adirondack equalized just over two minutes later, however, as James Henry capitalized on a favorable bounce of his own to knot the score at one with 10:26 left in the first period. After a loose puck floated into the slot, Henry and Manchester defenseman Jacob Middleton hit the puck at the same time, sending it up in the air and past Monarchs' netminder Colin Stevens. The tally marked Henry's sixth goal of the season, while Dana Fraser and Luke Curadi collected the helpers on the play.
The Thunder took their first lead of the night as Michael Kirkpatrick scored his team leading 29th goal of the season with a wrist shot from the left hand circle. Kirkpatrick took a feed from Peter MacArthur, skated in from the slot and fired a shot by Stevens for the goal. The tally extended Kirkpatrick's lead amongst ECHL rookie skaters, while MacArthur picked up his 28th assist of the season on the play.
Adirondack picked up a third goal just before intermission thanks to a superb individual effort from Greg Wolfe. With the Thunder shorthanded, Wolfe moved into the offensive zone, stole the puck from Manchester netminder Colin Stevens in the corner and put it home on the backhand to give the Thunder a 3-1 lead heading into the locker rooms. The tally, which came unassisted, was Wolfe's 15th of the season and his fifth in five games in the month of April.
The visitors extended their lead to three late in the second period as they converted for the first time on the man advantage with just 44 seconds remaining in the middle stanza. Kirkpatrick took a feed from Brodeur and fired a shot towards the Manchester goal, that was deflected by Fraser and into the back of the net for his ninth tally of the season. Kirkpatrick's helper on the play marked his 29th, leading all Thunder skaters, and his 16th multi-point game of the season.
Manchester cut the lead back down to two at the 8:22 mark of the third period. With the Monarchs on the man advantage, they worked the puck throughout the offensive zone and defenseman Alex Lintuniemi set up Michael Boivin for a one-timer and he buried for his ninth goal of the season. Lintuniemi and Maxim Kitsyn collected the helpers on the play, the 27th of the season for Kitsyn.
The Monarchs made it a one-goal game with less than 30 seconds on the clock to cut the Adirondack advantage to 4-3. After an offensive zone faceoff win, the puck fell to Larazza at the top of the left-hand circle and the Manchester winger put a bullet of a shot over Appleby's glove and underneath the crossbar for his 18th tally of the season. The goal for Larazza came off of an assist from Mark Anthoine, his 13th of the season.
The Thunder and Monarchs will battle once again tomorrow evening in a rematch at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Tickets to tomorrow's game are still available at just $13 per seat. Come out to the civic Center and help us create a playoff atmosphere with playoff pricing. Tickets are available at the Glens Falls Civic Center Box Office or online at https://thunder.formstack.com/forms/thunderstruck.
Full Season Tickets for the 2016-17 Adirondack Thunder season are on sale now for just 13 dollars per seat no matter where you sit. Experience Adirondack Thunder Hockey in a more affordable way than ever before. Sign up by March 31st and pay even less. Full Season Ticket Holders also have exclusive access to 2017 CCM/ECHL All Star Classic tickets. For more information and to get your seats now, call 480-3355 extension 1.
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from April 9, 2016
- Steelheads drop season finale to Mavs - Idaho Steelheads
- Grizzlies Close Regular Season with 5-3 Win in Rapid City - Utah Grizzlies
- Mavericks Win Final Game of Regular Season 3-1 over Steelheads - Kansas City Mavericks
- Rush Fall in Finale - Rapid City Rush
- Royals Announce Playoff Schedule for First Round Matchup - Reading Royals
- Oilers Finish Season with 2-1 Overtime Win - Tulsa Oilers
- O'Donnell Ties Club Record in 5-1 Win over Orlando - Florida Everblades
- Thrilling Finish Extends Final IceMen Game in Shootout Loss - Evansville IceMen
- Cyclones Victorious in Regular Season Finale - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Oilers Take Season Finale in OT vs. Thunder - Wichita Thunder
- Fuel Season Ends with Overtime Loss in Fort Wayne - Indy Fuel
- Stingrays Beat Admirals 5-4, Will Play Kalamazoo to Open Playoffs - South Carolina Stingrays
- Royals Suffer Second Straight Slip Down the Stretch to Wheeling in Regular Season Finale, 4-2 - Reading Royals
- Mallards Drop Regular Season Finale, Face Missouri in Opening Round of Playoffs - Quad City Mallards
- Wings Punch Ticket to Postseason in Finale Shutout - Kalamazoo Wings
- Swamp Rabbits Edged in Final Seconds of Season Finale - Greenville Swamp Rabbits
- Solar Bears Close out 2015-16 Season with 5-1 Loss to Everblades - Orlando Solar Bears
- Admirals Conclude Season with Hard-Fought Loss at Home - Norfolk Admirals
- Jackals Season Ends with 5-3 Loss to Brampton - Elmira Jackals
- Monarchs Release Playoff Schedule - Manchester Monarchs
- Monarchs Outlast Thunder, 5-4, in Regular Season Finale - Manchester Monarchs
- Kelly Cup Playoffs Schedule Announced: Thunder vs. Monarchs - Adirondack Thunder
- Ian Bateaux Scores Late Giving Atlanta 5-4 Win in Season Finale - Atlanta Gladiators
- Nailers Earn 19th Road Win in Regular Season Finale - Wheeling Nailers
- Beast End Season with Huge 5-3 Win over Jackals - Brampton Beast
- Toledo Finishes Regular Season with a 4-0 Loss in Kalamazoo - Toledo Walleye
- Rapid City Back in "Hockeyville" Competition - Rapid City Rush
- Mallards First Round Playoff Tickets on Sale Now - Quad City Mallards
- Nailers at Royals Game Day Snap Shot - Wheeling Nailers
- Game Day Capsule: Wichita at Tulsa, April 9th - Wichita Thunder
- Mavericks Sign Teddy Doherty to Standard Player Contract - Kansas City Mavericks
- ECHL Transactions - April 9 - ECHL
- Mallards Game Day - Quad City Mallards
- Goaltender Martin Ouellette Loaned to Reading - Reading Royals
- Patsch re-signs with Monarchs - Manchester Monarchs
- Oilers Host Thunder in Season Finale: Preview - Tulsa Oilers
- Faille Recalled from Solar Bears to Marlies - Orlando Solar Bears
- Game Notes: vs Quad City - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Fan Appreciation Night on Saturday to Feature over $1,000 in Giveaways - Adirondack Thunder
- Team Awards Tonight - Adirondack Thunder
- Adirondack Thunder Clinch Kelly Cup Playoff Berth with 4-3 Win over Manchester - Adirondack Thunder
- Gameday: Adirondack vs. Manchester - Adirondack Thunder
- Monarchs Game Day Capsule - Manchester Monarchs
- Jackals Close out Regular Season at Home against Brampton with Playoff Hopes on the Line - Elmira Jackals
- Game Preview: South Carolina at Norfolk, 7:15 p.m. - South Carolina Stingrays
- Mavericks Assigned Carter Verhaeghe from Sound Tigers - Kansas City Mavericks
- Final Regular Season Home Game Is Tonight, as the Playoffs Open Thursday - Allen Americans
- ECHL Today - April 9 - ECHL
- Hafner, Sivak Lead Aces to 2-0 Win over Eagles - Alaska Aces
- Hafner Claims First Pro Shutout as Aces Blank Eagles 2-0 - Colorado Eagles
- Americans Open the Playoffs at Home Next Thursday & Saturday - Allen Americans
- Statement Win for Steelheads - Idaho Steelheads
- Grizzlies Fall in Rapid City; Home Playoff Dates Announced - Utah Grizzlies
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.