The Adirondack Thunder have made a couple of moves before tonight’s do-or-die Game 5 against the Florida Everblades. Three players who were out of the lineup on Friday Night will find themselves back in the lineup for Game 5. Let’s take a deeper dive at who’s in and who’s out for Thunder.
Who’s In?
Connor Blake- There’s no question the Thunder need size, but they also need a guy like Connor Blake, who they acquired off waivers from the Idaho Steelheads late in the season. Blake played a big role for the Thunder as he has the ability to play on the backend and upfront; he has two goals and two assists for four points, all coming with the Thunder in 16 total games this season; he’s added two assists in 13 Kelly Cup Playoff Games so far.
Erik Middendorf– The Scottsdale native is one of two AHLers who will return to the Thunder lineup for Game 5 after Middendorf and Timur Ibragimov were scratched on Friday Night. Middendorf has had a solid Kelly Cup Playoffs, with the Thunder putting up a goal and four assists for five points in 10 Kelly Cup Playoff games. The 23-year-old forward missed the final two games of the Norfolk series and the first two games of the Florida series; with Adirondack playing a three-in-four in Flordia, Friday was likely just a day off for Middendorf.
Timur Ibragimov- Ibragimov will find his way back into the Thunder lineup after being a healthy scratch for the first time since returning from the injury that has caused him to miss 12 games during the Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Russian forward had a great regular season when he was down with the Thunder, playing in 14 games while putting up four goals and eight assists for 12 points; he added six goals and seven assists for 12 points with the Utica Comets during the regular season but has yet to find the scoresheet during the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
Who’s Out?
Alex Young- The 23-year-old winger came out of the gates hot when he made the jump from Arizona State to the Adirondack Thunder in April, putting up two goals and four assists for six points in seven games, which was enough to earn him a spot on Adirondack’s Kelly Cup Playoff. Young has played in nine Kelly Cup Playoff Games and has had his chances to find the scoresheet but has come up short, and in a do-or-die game, Adirondack is going to need every little bit of production that they can get.
Travis Broughman—As reported earlier, Broughman will be out of the lineup after suffering an upper-body injury in Game 4. This is a big loss for the Thunder, as Broughman is a big body who can play on the wing and up the middle. The 27-year-old forward has played in 12 Kelly Cup Playoff Games this season, putting up a goal and four assists for five points. He had 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 66 games during the regular season; his status for the remainder of the series is unknown.
Matt Stief- Head Coach Pete MacArthur mentioned earlier in the Kelly Cup Playoffs that he was using Stief as a situational player and that when he felt it was necessary, he would be in the lineup. The 28-year-old forward would get into the Thunder lineup in Game 4 after being a healthy scratch in Game 3; Stief, like the rest of the Thunder team, failed to find the scoresheet on Friday and finished with two shots on goal and four minutes in penalties.
