Thunder Dominate First, Beat Blades 5-3

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. – For the second straight game, the Adirondack Thunder netted three goals in the first period against the Florida Everblades. Despite a valiant effort, there was no successful comeback as the Blades fell 5-3 on Friday night at Cool Insuring Arena.

Shane Harper (7:01) got the scoring started for the Thunder, quickly followed by Tristan Ashbrook (8:34). In the dying seconds of the first period, Patrick Grasso scored a shorthanded goal (19:24) to give Adirondack a 3-0 lead at the first intermission. 

After a quiet start to the second period, Grasso found the back of the net again (14:21) to make it a 4-0 game. The Thunder looked poised to take that lead into the locker room, but Oliver Chau (17:56) broke the ice for the Everblades to cut the lead back to three. The period ended with the Thunder up 4-1. 

Florida continued its momentum early in the third period. Mark Senden (3:36) intercepted a pass while shorthanded, took it the other way, and capitalized on the breakaway opportunity with a backhand, five-hole finish to make it 4-2. Past the midway point of the period, the Blades owned a 5-on-3 man advantage after two quick Thunder penalties. Sean Josling (11:46) sniped home a laser of a wrist shot from the high slot to light the lamp and give the Blades their third unanswered goal. The goal was Josling’s 100th professional point. 

In the final minute of play, the Everblades pulled netminder Evan Cormier for an extra skater to attempt to level the game. Despite a strong effort out front, the Thunder won the puck back and fired it in for the empty-net tally (19:16). The game would finish 5-3 in favor of Adirondack. 

Florida goalie Evan Cormier turned aside 20 of the 24 shots he saw.

Opposite him, Vinnie Purpura made 38 saves on 41 shots and earned the win for the Thunder. 

The loss snaps the Everblades’ seven-game point streak dating back to Nov. 11.

Florida and Adirondack will play the final game of the three-game set tomorrow night, Dec. 2, at 7:00 p.m.

JOIN THE FUN

The 2023-24 season ticket plans are on sale now! Become a Blades 365 Member for the 2023-24 season and enjoy incredible savings and benefits! To view the Blades 365 Membership savings, benefits, and options, click HERE.

Group Packages are available for a group of 10 or more! The Everblades put the FUN in FUNdraising! There is no handling of any tickets or money and there’s no limit to the amount of money your group can make with the Everblades' easy-to-run online fundraiser! For more information, or to reserve a Fundraiser Night at an Everblades regular season home game, call or text (239) 948-7825.

Grab the newest and hottest Everblades merchandise by checking out the entire collection that is available online by visiting shop.floridaeverblades.com or at the Hertz Arena Pro Shop!

JOIN THE CONVERSATION 

Watch every Florida Everblades game on FloHockey.TV. Listen to the exciting game action on ESPN Southwest Florida on 770 AM, 98.1 FM, 104.3 FM on online at http://espnswfl.com or everblades.mixlr.com. Stay up to date by following the Blades on social media with all the latest news, scores, and promotions on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Twitter.