GLENS FALLS — The Adirondack Thunder took a 3-1 series lead with a 2-1 victory over the Worcester Railers in Game 4 on Wednesday evening at Cool Insuring Arena.
Forwards Brian Ward and Ryan Schmelzer each found the back of the net in the victory, while defenseman Mike Bergin collected a pair of assists. Goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood turned aside 28 of the 29 shots he faced as he earned his third victory of the series.
Adirondack got on the board thanks to a fortuitous bounce midway through the first period to take a 1-0 advantage. After Schmelzer got free in the corner, he curled and fired a shot towards the front of the net that deflected off of a Worcester stick and through the legs of Railers’ netminder Eamon McAdam. Forward Paul Rodrigues and Bergin tallied the assists on the play, the first of the postseason for the Adirondack captain.
Worcester came back to knot the score at one with a power-play goal in the second period. After Blackwood made the original save, the puck was kicked to Worcester forward Barry Almdiea at the top of the right-hand circle, where he fired a wrist shot into the back of the net for his second goal of the series. Forwards Matthew Gaudreau and Kellan Jones netted the assists on the play, the first of the postseason for both players.
The Thunder took just 92 seconds to respond, however, as Ward scored his team-leading third goal of the postseason to give the hosts a 2-1 advantage. Bergin took a feed from defenseman Mathieu Brodeur at the left point and his shot found the stick of Ward in the high slot and redirected past McAdam for the goal. Bergin and Brodeur picked up the assists on the play, Bergin’s second point of the evening.
The two teams are back in action on Saturday evening as the Thunder and Railers square off in Game 5 at Cool Insuring Arena.
