Fielding stars in net as Thunder win 2-1
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. » The Thunder couldn’t afford to lose with two of the winningest people in Adirondack hockey history in the house.
Neil Smith and Chris Tancill, major contributors to three different Calder Cup champion teams, were inducted to the Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame prior to Saturday’s Thunder game against the Brampton Beast.
The Thunder continued that winning legacy by defeating Brampton, 2-1, behind the sparkling goaltending of Drew Fielding, who earned his fifth straight victory.
“I was upstairs for the unbelievable ceremony, came down here for a meeting with the boys and said, ‘There’s some very important people in this building. Let’s play for them. Let’s play for the community,’” Coach Brad Tapper said. “I thought they did very well tonight.”
Smith was Adirondack Red Wings general manager when the team won AHL titles in 1986 and ‘89, while Tancill played for the 1992 champion Wings.
Goaltender Norm Maracle was also inducted to the Hall of Fame,
but was unable to attend the festivities.
It was a night full of milestones as forward James Henry, a third-year Thunder player, picked up an assist to become the leading scorer in franchise history with 101 points.
But Fielding, who stopped 29 of 30 shots, including a heavy barrage midway through the second stanza, was clearly the game’s top performer.
“Our goaltending was fabulous,” Tapper said. “Goaltending wins you games in this league all the time. The goaltender has to be the backbone of your team.”
The win moved Adirondack to within five points of first-place Manchester in the ECHL’s North Division standings.
Shane Conacher’s goal just 22 seconds into the contest put the Thunder up, 1-0. But they wouldn’t score again until 3:45 of the third period after Brampton tied the game, 1-1, on David Vallorani’s marker with 1:06 left in the middle stanza.
Andrew Radjenovic got the game-winner, as he tipped a cross-ice pass from Evan Neugold into the top right corner, over Beast netminder Andrew D’Agostini’s outstretched leg and glove.
The contest closed out a four-game Adirondack homestand that saw the Thunder earn seven of eight possible points. The night before, they dropped a 4-3 overtime shootout to Worcester, in somewhat of a subpar performance.
“This was a bit more of a complete effort,” Henry said. “If you look at our game yesterday (Friday), we got a little bit scrambly at times. We were kind of playing on our heels a little bit. Tonight I thought we were a little more disciplined. On our forecheck we weren’t diving in and getting odd-man rushes against all night, compared to last game.
“The guys have been working really hard,” he said. “It was definitely an important win for us.”