It was a successful debut for the Adirondack Thunder as they officially kicked off their 2017-18 campaign with a one goal win on home ice against the Canadiens’ ECHL affiliate, the Brampton Beast.
First period was all Thunder, as they outshot the Beast 14-10 and put up 3 goals. Troy Bourke would open the scoring 3:10 into the contest with a power play goal. Brampton would respond just over two minutes later with a Thomas Ebbing goal to tie it up at 1. In a span of 3:30 late in the opening period, Eric Neiley and Ty Loney would pick up their first goals of the season to put the Thunder ahead 3-1 after 20 minutes.
In the second, the Beast would take over play, outshooting the Thunder 15-9. Adirondack goaltender Nick Riopel was up to the challenge, though, as he near singlehandedly kept the Thunder’s two goal lead for most of the period. Brampton’s Jordan Boucher would solve Riopel late in the period to cut the Adirondack lead to 3-2.
Third period could be best described as a reverse roller coaster. The Beast would tie the game at 3 on a Brandon Marino goal 2:56 into the period. But just 19 seconds later, Bourke would pick up his second goal of the night to put Adirondack ahead 4-3. With 9:54 to go in regulation, the Beast would once again tie the game up via a goal by Chris Leveille. But the Thunder would have the last laugh, as Loney’s second goal of the evening 36 seconds later would put Adirondack ahead for good.
Riopel picked up his first Thunder win, stopping 32 of 36 Beast shots. Loney and J.C. Campagna would add two assists each. Bourke and four other Thunder skaters had one helper each.
3 Stars:
3. J.C. Campagna (2 assists)
2. Troy Bourke (2 goals, 1 assist)
1. Ty Loney (2 goals, 2 assists)
This Week’s Schedule:
The Thunder have a pair of games coming up this weekend. On Friday, they will host Manchester for the first of 13 meetings this season, looking to avenge their first round exit to the Monarchs from last season’s Kelly Cup playoffs. Saturday, the Thunder play their first road game in Reading against the Royals.
