Adirondack Thunder face firstplace Monarchs at home tonight
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. » Thunder coach Brad Tapper felt like his team had just won the Stanley Cup, following its surprising 6-2 victory at Reading on Sunday.
Adirondack was winless in six previous outings against the Royals, and was playing its third game in less than 48 hours on road-weary legs.
The Thunder (14-11-1-1) hope to follow up on that victory at 7 p.m. Wednesday when hosting the first-place Manchester Royals (16-9-11) in a key ECHL showdown. The teams are separated by just four standings points.
“Hard work pays off,” Tapper said. “The guys stepped up against Reading. They worked hard. That’s what it’s all about.”
Netminder Chris Nell, a New York Rangers prospect, stood tall between the pipes for Adirondack with a 35-save performance. It was his first ECHL career win. Nell, 23, a rookie out of Bowling Green
State University, started the season in the AHL at Hartford, where he went 5-5.
“Some games I was really on top of it, some games it just really wasn’t there,” he admitted.
Coming to Adirondack gives him a chance to get more ice time and work on his skills.
“I think a lot of it is just focusing on small technical things, and consistency,” he said. “That comes with playing a lot of games. So my goal is just to come down here and prove that I can play, and go from there.”
Nell wasted no time making true believers of Thunder teammates as he made several brilliant saves in his Adirondack debut, a tough 4-3 loss to the Worcester Railers.
“You want to get better every day and you want to just come in and help the team,” he said. “I’m trying to get to know the guys as quick as possible and show that I’m willing to work. All the guys here are super-welcoming and made it easy.”
Communication with defensemen in front of him is a big part of the game.
“You have your systems in place,” Nell said. “A lot of making hockey easy is communication. Over-talking out there is better than under-talking. Sometimes you say, ‘Hey, you’ve got one on you’ or ‘Hey, they’re coming hard.’ You try to let the D-men know if they have to skate a little faster coming back, or if they have time to pick their head up and look.”
The one thing he tries to not do is over-think.
“It’s more reaction,” Nell said. “You just go out and have fun and read the game as it happens. When I’m playing my best hockey it’s almost looking like I’m not trying. It’s more like I’m in the right spot at the right times, and letting the puck hit in me in the chest.”