Thunder gain upper hand over Lions

After the Lions posted two consecutive victories against the Adirondack Thunder on February 18 and 19, tonight's match-up was sure to be interesting. Right from the get-go, however, the Thunder showed they did not want to extend that losing streak to three games by scoring twice in the first six minutes of the opening period, with the goals coming at the 3:40 and 5:59 marks. When the Thunder made the score 3-0 at 11:43, Lions head coach Marc-André Bergeron decided to replace goalkeeper Joe Vrbetic with Francis Marotte. But by the end of the period Adirondack had extended their lead to 4-0 when Matt Jennings scored his first professional goal. A period to forget for the Lions.The second period was calmer offensively as compared to the opening 20 minutes. Hoping to light a fuse for the Lions, Cam Cook went toe-to-toe with the Thunder’s Matt Jennings at the 8:52 mark. It didn’t go as planned, however, as Adirondack’s Travis Broughman lit the lamp to make the score 5-0. Two minutes later the Lions finally got on the scoresheet when Cédric Lacroix’s deflection found the back of the Thunder goal. Lions’ netminder Marotte was impressive throughout the period, making key saves and preventing the Thunder from extending their lead.The Thunder paid the price for undisciplined play in the third period: Accumulating three penalties in less than two minutes at the start of the period allowed the Lions to score their second goal of the game via a perfect shot off the stick of Anthony Beauregard. The goal provided the spark Trois-Rivières needed as a few minutes later Santino Centorame scored with Jack Flaman getting his first assist of the season. Fans were no doubt on the edge of their seats as a comeback looked to be in the cards. The Thunder were then denied a sixth tally as there was goaltender interference on the play. Unable to add an extra skater at the end of the game meant it was difficult for the Lions to mount sustained pressure. Ultimately Adirondack’s Shawn Weller scored his tenth goal of the season to cement a 6-3 Thunder victory.