Thunder can even playoff series Thursday night
By Paul Post GLENS FALLS, N.Y. >> A seven-game playoff series doesn’t allow much time for learning on the job.
The Thunder, however, made a dramatic turnaround from Game 2 to Game 3, on Tuesday, when they beat the Manchester Monarchs, 3-1, in firstround ECHL postseason action.
Adirondack can knot the series at two games apiece when hosting Manchester on Thursday in Game 4. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at Glens Falls Civic Center.
“I think we were a little tentative early in the series,” Coach Cail MacLean said. “With a young team, they’re coming in kind of feeling their way through this. We had to understand, OK, we’ve got to relax and just play our game. When you put too much pressure on yourself, especially a young group, that’s not going to work.
“Now we’re in a good position.”
All remaining games in the series will be played in Glens Falls before the Thunder’s hometown crowd.
They took advantage of this Tuesday by scoring the contest’s first goal, which brought energy in the building to a new level.
Defenseman Alex Wall’s marker, his third of the series, got things going at 3:11 of the second period, assisted by Dennis Kravchenko. Seven minutes later, Kravchenko made it 2-0 with a shot from the left side through a crowd in front of the Manchester net.
Cam Brown and James Henry earned helpers on this goal.
At 12:36 of the third period, Gunnar Hughes threw a shot on net that caromed off Monarch goaltender Sam Brittain and landed in the back of the twine, for a 3-0 Thunder lead.
Manchester didn’t score until there was just 23 seconds left in the contest. David Kolomatis spoiled Adirondack goaltender J.P. Anderson’s shutout bid with a power-play goal after Brian Montgomery went to the box for boarding.
Anderson made several brilliant saves during the contest and played a key role in keeping Manchester off the board during a pivotal 5-on-3 power play late in the second period.
The Thunder obviously benefited from being on home ice after opening the series with two road games.
They came out firing on all cylinders and looked more like the team that closed out the regular season with 10 wins in its last 11 contests.
“To steal a line from Mike Babcock (Toronto Maple Leafs coach), young teams get better as the series continues,” MacLean said. “We’ve always said we’re getting better all year long. The same thing applies at this time of year. As we settle in and guys understand the nature of this beast, and confidence grows, we’re going to keep getting better. We definitely got better from Game 2 to Game 3.” **** Game 5 is at 7 p.m. Saturday, followed by Games 6 and 7, if needed, on Tuesday and Wednesday. All remaining games are in Glens Falls. **** In other Eastern Conference series, Brampton leads Reading two games to one; South Carolina and Greenville are tied with two wins each; and Orlando leads Florida, 2-0.