Thunder host Wheeling at home tonight
GLENSFALLS » Holy turnover, Batman!
Three key Adirondack Thunder players are injured and three more have recently been called up to the AHL including Mitchell Heard who left Thursday for Stockton, Ca.
Cail MacLean is facing every minor-league coach’s worst nightmare, a depleted roster with a heavy lineup of games on tap that begins tonight at home against the Wheeling Nailers.
“We’re concentrating on things within our control,” MacLean said. “This brings an opportunity for some of the other guys that have been here, working hard, who haven’t played as much. Maybe they can contribute
with power plays and more ice time.”
Opening face- off is at 7 p.m.
The contest closes out a six-game homestand, but is the first in a brutal stretch of four games in five days. The Thunder are at Reading on Saturday and Sunday before returning home to face Wheeling again on Tuesday.
Only a month ago the Thunder were in the midst of a five- game winning streak (and seven of eight), which put them on top of the ECHL’s East Division standings. But things suddenly went wrong the past three weeks.
Adirondack has gone 2- 6 during that stretch including its most lopsided loss of the year, an 8- 0 shellacking by Elmira, on Tuesday.
“Our standards as a team are always going to be high,” MacLean said. “We lost our focus.”
Actually, on Tuesday the Thunder looked like a team in disarray.
Kent Simpson, a recent ECHL Goaltender of the Week, was scored on four times and chased from Adirondack’s net before the end of the second period. His replacement, Jacob DeSerres, promptly gave up another goal and three more in the third period.
The Thunder announced Thursday that he’s been traded to the Alaska Aces, the ECHL’s version of Siberia, for future considerations.
Team spokesman Zach Dooley said another goaltender to back up Simpson will be announced this weekend.
“Kent can handle a lot of games in a short amount of time,” MacLean said. “He’s very professional in the way he takes care of himself and prepares for games. We’ll do our best to support him.”
The Thunder also announced Thursday that they’ve signed rookie Terrence Wallin, who had 12 goals (23 points) with Peoria of the Southern Professional Hockey League this year. Any offense he can generate is important, as Adirondack has struggled to put pucks in the net of late.
The Thunder are still in second place only five points behind Manchester and well-positioned for an ECHL playoff berth. But there are more than two dozen games left to play, and Adirondack has to start winning some of them or it could be on the outside looking in when the postseason arrives.