Thunder set for new season’s home opener Saturday
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. >> Thunder coach Alex Loh couldn’t be happier if his team plays as well in Glens Falls as it did on the road this past week.
Adirondack captured two of three contests during a long trip to Maine and Newfoundland, two new opponents in the ECHL’s seven-team North Division.
The Thunder’s next big test is Saturday, when hosting the Brampton Beast in their 2018-19 home opener. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at Cool Insuring Arena.
“I thought we played with a lot of speed and intensity,” said Loh, the Thunder’s new head coach. “We just need to work on being more consistent.”
Adirondack, the two-time defending North Division champion, advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals last year. The new season began last
Saturday with a 6-3 victory over the Maine Mariners.
John Edwardh recorded two goals and two assists and 10 different Thunder skaters recorded a point. Edwardh, a rookie, earned ECHL Player of the Week honors for his four-point performance.
The Thunder have a solid mix of new and returning players, led by veteran forwards such as team Captain James Henry, now in his fourth year at Adirondack, Brian Ward and Peter MacArthur of Clifton Park.
On Tuesday, the Thunder dropped a 7-3 decision at Newfoundland, but bounced back the next night to defeat the Growlers, 6-4.
Edwardh picked up his third goal of the young season in the first contest. Shane Conacher scored twice in the second one, for a team-high four markers.
Union College product Alex Sakellaropoulos made his first start in net on Wednesday, earning the win with a 27-save performance.
A three-goal, second-period outburst by Conacher, Conor Riley and Shane Eiserman powered Adirondack’s victory. “That was probably our best 20 minutes of hockey so far,” Loh said. “That’s the standard I’d like to see us try to live up to.”
The Thunder bring a 2-10-0 record into Saturday night’s game while Brampton is 1-1-0-0. The contest is the first of a two-game, home-and-home series against the Beast that continues Sunday in Ontario.
Next Wednesday, the Thunder host the Worcester Railers to open a fourgame homestand. From now through mid-January, every game on the schedule is against divisional opponents, so each date is critical to Adirondack’s hopes of defending its title.
The seven-team North Division is comprised of Adirondack, Maine, Newfoundland, Brampton, Reading, Manchester and Worcester.
Loh said starting the season on the road gave players a chance to bond and build team unity.
“It’s always good to get away like that and give guys a chance to get to know one another and develop camaraderie,” the coach said.
But now the spotlight will be on everyone as Adirondack fans get their first look at the team Saturday night. Loh, Adirondack’s associate coach the past three seasons, succeeds Brad Tapper as head coach. Peter Dineen, whose father, Bill, coached the Adirondack Red Wings to a pair of AHL Calder Cup championships, is the Thunder’s new assistant coach.
“We can’t wait to get on home ice,” Loh said. “I’m sure there will be a big crowd on hand. This building is always exciting to play in.”