The Adirondack Thunder (10-10-0-1) and Reading Royals (8-14-4-0) will play a home-and-home series this weekend, beginning Friday night in Reading. The series will be pivotal, as both teams have struggled recently and want to go into the Holiday Break on a positive note. Adirondack has won four of the first six meetings this year between the two teams.
“Get it behind their D and get to the net, that’s the biggest thing for us right now. We had oppurtuntities in the first and second period on Saturday Night that didn’t go anywhere. I don’t know if that flipped a switch on our guys mentally cause there weren’t out like they wanted to get to the net, it’s like a reverse magnet kind of effect. When we get possesion of the puck we need to have a guy staying at the net at all and then get pucks there”
Head Coach Pete MacArthur on the keys to the weekend series vs Reading
Where To Watch
Adirondack Thunder Radio Network
Players To Watch
Adirondack
Jeremy Brodeur– There is no doubt that Brodeur will see a start this weekend against Reading, which is huge, seeing he’s had a solid season, going 6-4-0 with a 2.94 GAA, .895SV% and one shutout. The 28-year-old goaltender was recently recalled to the Utica Comets and has not seen any game action since November 6th vs Norfolk Admirals, where he gave up six goals on 28 shots. Brodeur is 1-2 this year against Reading, a team that put seven pucks past him on November 11th.
Brendan Less- Heading into the weekend, the Adirondack Thunder are 8-4-1 when Less is in the lineup. Less, who is coming off his first career AHL game with the Syracuse Crunch, has been hot of late for the Thunder, putting up all six of his points this season in the past five games. He will be a welcome addition to the Thunder lineup this weekend.
Tag Bertuzzi– The 23-year-old forward will face his former team, the Reading Royals, after having his ECHL Rights traded to Adirondack in the off-season. Bertuzzi,23, returned to Adirondack for the first time since the beginning of the year and immediately made an impact, picking up a goal and an assist on Friday Night. One of the areas that was most affected when Ryan Smith went overseas was the offensive contribution, and Bertuzzi helped fill that hole for the moment.
Reading
Brock Caufield– The Royals have dealt with their fair share of injuries this season but recently got a big piece back to their lineup in Brock Caufield. The 25-year-old winger had one goal in his first nine games with Reading before suffering an injury that kept him out a little over a month as he returned to the Royals lineup last Saturday vs Wheeling Nailers. Caufield is in his second season in the ECHL after he spent his rookie season with the Newfoundland Growlers, where he had 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points in 63 games.
Austin Master- After putting up two goals and seven assists for nine points in his rookie year, the Royals would finally re-sign Master in November, and he hasn’t disappointed. In nine games this season, the Broomall, Pennsylvania native has one goal and three assists for four points, including two of his three assists against the Thunder. This is proving to be one of the better mid-season signings for the Royals.
Matt Brown– The 25-year-old center has found his game after being sent to Reading after spending the first six games of the season in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he failed to find the scoresheet. In 10 games with Reading, Brown has put up three goals and four assists for seven points, including points in all three games against the Thunder, and has played well against the Thunder in his career as he put up a goal and four assists against them last season in five games.
Team Stats
Adirondack:
GA: 3.19 (21st)
GF: 2.57 (20th)
PP: 14.1% (24th)
PK: 82.4% (15th)
Reading
GA: 3.15 (19th )
GF: 2.54 (21st)
PP: 18% (16th)
PK: 77.5% (25th)
Discover more from Inside The Rink
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
