Thunder power play fizzles in loss
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. » The Thunder could use a visit from the Energizer Bunny as their power play was 0-for-7 in a 4-2 loss to the Toledo Walleye on Saturday.
It was a game Adirondack sorely needed before heading out on a month-long, 12-game road trip that begins Sunday in Reading, which concludes a three games-in-three days weekend.
The Thunder aren’t home again until Saturday, Nov. 25.
“We wanted that one really badly,” Coach Brad Tapper said. “They (Toledo) came out hard. I thought they threw their weight around. It was an angry hockey club that lost to us yesterday. Back-to-backs are always tough.”
Adirondack not only squandered scoring opportunities, but also missed out on a chance to move into a first-place tie in the ECHL’s North Division standings.
Tapper laid the blame on his club’s special teams units.
“We were 0-for-7 on the power play. That’s unacceptable,” he said. “The penalty kill was not very good either. They scored two power play goals. “
It was the first time in six games the Thunder were held to less than four goals in a game. Walleye netminder Pat Nagle stopped 30 of 32 shots to earn the win.
The Thunder drew first blood 3:54 into the contest when Brian Ward chipped a puck in from close range, following a long slapshot by Desmond Bergin that hit Nagle and bounced in front, where Ward drove it home.
“When Wardo that first one I thought we were going to have a really good night,” Tapper said. “But they started really coming at us. They were taking away a lot of time and space.”
Toledo answered just over two minutes later, 11 seconds into their first power play of the night after Ward was called for tripping. Defenseman Kevin Tansey’s shot from the right point sailed high into the net’s top left corner, eluding Adirondack goaltender Nick Riopel, who drew the starting nod after missing Friday’s game due to illness.
The first period ended in a 1-1 tie, with 55 seconds remaining on a Thunder power play.
With just under a minute to go in the frame, Ward and Toledo’s A.J. got into a hard-hitting scrum near the Walleye net, bringing the crowd to life. But Adirondack couldn’t carry the momentum into the second period as it failed to convert on the man-advantage.
The middle stanza was a penalty-marred affair, especially at 14:36 when five different players drew simultaneous roughing penalties. It started when Nagle elbowed Adirondack’s Terrence Wallin in the head, in front of Toledo’s goal. When Wallin responded, Walleye defenseman Kevin Tansey came charging in, igniting a wild free-for-all.
But the incident resulted in matching penalties so no one had an advantage when play finally resumed.
Toledo went ahead, 3-1, with a pair of goals two minutes apart by Parker Reno and Tyler Barnes, the latter on a power-play after Adirondack’s Colton White was whistled for tripping.
Eric Neiley’s fluke goal cut the margin to 3-2 at 1:31 of the third period. His shot hit Nagle, caromed out, struck a Walleye player’s skate and went straight back into the net.
That was all the offense Adirondack could muster as Toledo shut down scoring lanes wound the clock down. The Walleye added an empty-netter with 25 seconds to play.
“We have to learn how to play against heavy hockey clubs,” Tapper said. “They’ve got some big guys. We need to learn how to match the intensity right away, check for check, and play hard.”