Edwardh’s two goals lift Thunder to 3-1 win over Reading
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. >> In football, they call it a Hail Mary.
In basketball, a full- court miracle shot.
John Edwardh’s long-range empty-netter with 1:05 to play was the closest thing you’ll ever see to either one in a hockey game, and it iced the Thunder’s win over Reading by a 3-1 final score on Saturday.
“I was just a little lucky there, but obviously it was nice to see it go in and get us the win,” he said.
With 2:58 remaining and Adirondack ahead, 2-1, Royals netminder Branden Komm went to the bench so his team could put an extra attacker on the ice. Reading unleashed a torrid attack, with one close call after another until a puck came loose deep in the Thunder zone.
Edwardh launched it down ice, right on target, in the back of the Royals goal.
“I think I was on my butt, watching it,” said Thunder goaltender Alex Sakellaropoulos. “I was pretty pumped that it went in, though, I have to admit. It was a huge crowd (5,178), a huge win for us and a huge win for the fans.”
The empty-netter was Edwardh’s second goal of the night. His first, at 15:49 of the third stanza, was a dazzling shot as he cut across the crease from right to left and fired a shot past Komm’s outstretched leg.
It put Adirondack in front, 2-1, and came during four- on-four action, as both sides had a man in the box.
Peter MacArthur’s firstperiod marker, which ignited the large crowd, was also a thing of beauty.
The play started near the left point where defenseman Kelly Summers fired a cross-ice pass to Jake Linhart, who sent it right back across the rink to MacArthur, stationed down low, where he blasted a shot just inside the left post.
But Edwardh, a rookie out of UMass-Lowell, has been a scoring machine of late. The two goals extended his points streak to 14 straight games. He now has nine goals and 13 assists during the month-long span and has taken over the team scoring lead with 50 total points (22g, 28a).
“I think he’s playing a little bit harder, moving his feet a little bit better than he did at the beginning of the year,” Coach Alex Loh said. “So he’s getting rewarded for it. He’s definitely a goal scorer. If you look at his college and junior numbers he could score then, so he’s just showing that he can do it at the next level, too.”
Sakellaropoulos turned in another sterling performance between the pipes by recording 33 saves to earn his 18th win of the year.
“He played awesome for us,” Loh said. “They had a lot of Grade A scoring opportunities and he came up with really big saves. That gives you confidence that you can play just a little bit quicker, a little bit faster. Then all of a sudden you feel a little bit better about yourself.”
“He was excellent for us tonight, par for the course for him this year,” Loh said.
Reading’s only goal, at 15:37 of the second period, came after a defensive breakdown resulting from a turnover in Adirondack’s zone.
The Thunder and Royals square off again Sunday in Reading in what’s sure to be another hardfought battle.
Adirondack (29-18- 5-2) is second in the ECHL’s North Division, while the Royals (23-22- 4- 5) are sixth, fighting hard for a postseason berth.
“It’s desperation hockey for them,” Sakellaropoulos said. “They’re battling for a playoff spot. We don’t want them to catch us so we’ve just got to win and get as many points as we can.”