The ECHL Regular Season has officially kicked, and it was an exciting weekend for teams in the North Division and after the opening weekend it’s the Reading Royals hold the top spot in the North after going 3-0 on the weekend. Let’s take a closer look at each individual team’s efforts over the weekend.
Reading Royals (3-0-0-0, 6pts, 1st Place): It’s a new look Royals team coming into the 2024-25 season after missing the Kelly Cup Playoffs last season, and they would make a statement right out of the gate. Reading, who started the season with a three-game road trip, would win all three games, starting with a come-from-behind victory on Friday night after erasing a two-goal deficit to be the Trois-Rivieres Lions 3-2 on Friday Night. The Royals would then play two games against the Worcester Railers, taking home a 2-1 win on Saturday and Sunday Night to finish off the weekend road trip. Reading opens their home slate on Saturday Night as they welcome the Wheeling Nailers to town for a two-game set.
Parker Gahghen would be named the ECHL’s Goaltender of the Week after going 2-0 on the weekend and stopping 41 of 44 shots he saw in two starts over the weekend. This is the sixth time he’s won this award, which is tied for fifth most in ECHL History.
Adirondack Thunder (2-0-0-0, 4pts, 2nd Place): It was a rematch of the 2024 North Division Finals. On Friday night, the Thunder scored two goals in 34 seconds in the final two minutes of the game to take a 2-1 victory. On Saturday Night, they followed it by putting up five unanswered goals in a 6-3 win. The Thunder will have their home opener vs. Trois-Rivieres Lions on Saturday Night for their lone game of the weekend.
Armand Klisvitch’s Friday Night Recap
Armand Klisivitch’s Saturday Night Recap
Maine Mariners (1-1-0-0, 2pts, 3rd Place): The Mariners would open up their season by welcoming the newest member of the North Division to down in the Wheeling Nailers. During the 2023-24 season, the Mariners would finish 17th in the league on the PK, and things got off to a rocky start on opening night as they gave up two PP goals to the Nailers in a 4-1 loss. Maine would bounce back the following night, picking up a 4-1 win to earn the series split to open up the regular season. The Mariners will host Norfolk Admirals on Friday and Saturday Night before welcoming the Worcester Railers to town on Sunday Afternoon.
Zach Alvarado’s Friday Night Recap
Zach Alvarado’s Saturday Night Recap
Wheeling Nailers (1-1-0-0, 2pt, 4th Place): During the 2024 off-season, the Wheeling Nailers would move from the Western Conference’s Central Division to the Eastern Conference’s North Division. The Nailers would waste no time welcoming themselves to the North Division as they picked up a 4-1 opening night victory on the road. They would fail to pick up the weekend sweep as the Mariners responded on Saturday Night with a 4-1 victory. Wheeling will now head to Reading, PA, to play the Reading Royals for two games beginning on Saturday Night.
Zach Alverado’s Friday Night Recap
Zach Alverado’s Saturday Night Recap
Trois-Rivieres Lions (0-1-0-0, 0pts, 5th Place): The Lions had their home opener on Friday Night vs Reading Royals, getting off to a hot start as Jakov Novak opened the scoring 16 seconds in, and the captain Morgan Adams-Moisan scoring with two seconds left in the opening frame but would end up losing the game 3-2 in regulation. Despite the result on the ice, the Lions should be happy about a crowd of 4,100 after finishing last season second to last in attendance with an average attendance of 2,241. The Lions will host the Worcester Railers on Friday before heading to Glens Falls, NY, to play the Adirondack Thunder on Saturday.
Norfolk Admirals (0-2-0-0, 6th Place): The Norfolk Admirals opened up their season on Friday Night looking for revenge against the Adirondack Thunder, a team who took all three games in Norfolk during last year’s North Division Finals. In both games for the Admirals, they would get on the board first but couldn’t hold their lead in either game, losing 2-1 on Friday Night and 6-3 on Saturday Night. Norfolk will head up to Portland, Maine, next weekend as they will play the Maine Mariners on Friday and Saturday Night.
Armand Klisivitch’s Friday Night Recap
Armand Klisivitch’s Saturday Night Recap
Worcester Railers (0-2-0-0, 0pts, 7th Place): Before the puck would even drop on the 2024-25 season in Worcester the team would begin the night by honoring former Railer Matthew Gaudreau and his brother Johnny who were killed in a tragic car accident over the Summer. Unfourtantly for the Railer’s their 2024-25 campaign began the same way it ended as they lost 2-1 on Saturday Night with the Royal’s game winning goal coming with less than ten mintues left in the 3rd despite the Royals being held to only 16 shots in the game. On Sunday, Reading’s momentum would carry over as they opened up with two goals in the first ten minutes of the game, and they wouldn’t look back as they took home a 2-1 victory. Worcester will travel to Trois-Rivieres to play the Lions on Friday Night and will then make their way to Maine to play the Mariners on Sunday afternoon.
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