Mantha shines in net; Thunder clinches
WORCESTER, MASS. » Olivier Mantha joined the Thunder less than two months ago when the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch signed and sent him to Adirondack, right out of college at the University of Alaska-Anchorage.
The rookie netminder’s first-ever pro playoff start couldn’t have come at a more critical time on Monday.
Number one goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was sidelined by injury, and the Thunder needed one more win to clinch their first-round ECHL playoff series against Worcester. Mantha came up huge by stopping 27 of 28 shots in a 3-1 victory that allowed Adirondack to capture the series, 4-2, and advance to the next round against Manchester be- ginning Friday at home. (7 p.m.).
It was a major turnaround for Mantha, who suffered a disappointing 6- 5 loss on Saturday in Game 5, when he was forced into action unexpectedly after Blackwood was injured 90 seconds into the contest and couldn’t continue.
“Obviously I tried to forget last game and approach this one as a brand-new challenge, take five minutes at a time, one shot at a time, and not do too much by trying to win the game by myself,” he said. “I was trying to not get too high, stay in the moment. Obviously there’s a lot of pressure. The trick is to relax, have a short-term memory, be ready for the next game and bounce back.”
The Thunder never trailed as Paul Rodrigues opened the scoring with a short-handed goal at 8:27 of the first period, lifting a shot past Railers netminder Eamon McAdam into the top right corner.
But Worcester answered only 43 seconds later to tie the game at 1, when Barry Almeida fired a shot home from the right circle.
It was the only goal Mantha allowed.
“It was nice to see him respond and have that swagger we talk about for goaltenders,” Coach Brad Tapper said. “He made key saves at key times. I tend not to talk to the starting goalie. I don’t want to be anywhere near him. Our players tapped him on the pads and said be ready for Game 6 and he was ready. He was pumped for the start.”
Defenseman Desmond Bergin scored the game-winner with 1.2
ticks left on the first-period clock when his slapshot, from between the circles, hit the crossbar and came straight down, just over the line.
“That was unbelievable, huge,” Tapper said.
It turned out to be all the offense either side could produce until the Thunder’s Mike Szmatula came up with a loose puck and took it the length of the ice for an empty-netter, which sealed the deal with 44 seconds left in the contest.
Worcester mounted a torrid mid- third period attack, keeping the puck in Adirondack’s zone with a series of shots, but couldn’t get anything past Mantha. Their last good chance came with 6:52 left when the Thunder’s Colton White went to the bench for slashing.
But the Thunder’s penalty kill, 4-for- 4 on the night, was up to the challenge and kept Worcester from tying the game.
McAdam went to the Railers bench in favor of an extra skater, with just under two minutes to play.
Szmatula, however, decided the outcome with his second goal of the series.
“We just played one of the biggest, heaviest, hardworking teams,” Tapper said. “Manchester is big and heavy as well. They’ve got speed, skill and goaltending so it’s not going to get any easier that’s for sure. Our guys have been resilient all year. If a goal is scored against we know to be composed, be ready and play with structure after a bad situation.”
“We’re very excited to get back in front of our fans,” he said. “Our local community deserves a second round.”
Second Round Schedule Game 1: Manchester @
Adirondack – Friday, April 27, 7p.m.
Game 2: Manchester @ Adirondack – Saturday, April 28, 7p.m.
Game 3: Manchester @ Adirondack – Tuesday, May 1, 7p.m.
Game 4: Manchester @ Adirondack – Thursday, May 3, 7p.m.
*Game 5: Adirondack @ Manchester – Sunday, May 6, 6p.m.
*Game 6: Adirondack @ Manchester – Monday, May 7, 7p.m.
*Game 7: Manchester @ Adirondack – Wednesday, May 9, 7p.m.
*If Necessary