GLENS FALLS, NY – The Adirondack Thunder used two late first-period goals to take the only lead it would need in Friday night’s 3-1 win over the Maine Mariners at Cool Insuring Arena.
Peter MacArthur scored a power-play goal at the 17:23 mark of the opening period to get the Thunder on the board and tie the game at 1-1. The play started with a slap-pass from Shane Conacher at the top of the faceoff circle to James Henry behind the net. The ECHL’s leading scorer then found MacArthur on a back-door pass for his second score of the year.
Mike Szmatula added the Thunder’s second goal just 42 seconds later when he beat Mariners goalie Brandon Halverson on a 2-on-1 break. Conor Riley got to a loose puck in the defensive zone after a Mariners turnover and flipped a pass off the boards to Szmatula to start the odd-man rush. He started the break with Brian Ward and snapped a wrist-shot by the glove side of Halverson for a 2-1 Thunder advantage.
There wasn’t another score in the game until after 40 minutes of action later when Conor Riley put the game away with a shorthanded empty-net goal as Maine pulled its goalie and was on a 6-on-4 power play.
Thunder goalie Colton Phinney was sturdy in net, collecting his third consecutive win between the pipes for Adirondack. Phinney turned away 24 of the 25 shots he faced and was at his best early in the third period when the Thunder failed to maintain possession for extended periods of time.
Mariners forward Alex Kile scored the game’s opening goal early at the 7:24 mark of the first period. Kile collected the puck behind the Thunder cage, circled around the front and slid one past Phinney for the Mariners lone tally of the night. Former Thunder forward Terrence Wallin picked up a helper on the score.
The Thunder are back at it tomorrow night when the Worcester Railers come back to Glens Falls for Military Appreciation Night at Cool Insuring Arena. The four-game homestand wraps up Tuesday evening against the Newfoundland Growlers. For the latest Thunder news, be sure to follow the team on Facebook and Twitter.
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