ECHL: Takeaways From The Adirondack Thunder 2024 Preseason

The Adirondack Thunder finished off their preseason series against the Reading Royals last night. The two teams split the series, with each of the teams picking up a win on the road. As we know, the preseason is about seeing what to expect and learning some new things, so let’s look at what stuck out in the two games over the weekend against the Royals. Adirondack will open the regular season on Friday Night as they begin the season with a two-game road trip vs Norfolk Admirals.

Physicality: There’s no doubt that the physicality was on display during the preseason, especially from players like Shaw Boomhower and Darian Skeoch, who each saw themselves pick up a game misconduct during their weekend series as the Thunder combined for 36 minutes in penalties. There’s no question that Adirondack will play physically this year; they have to be smart about it so they aren’t playing a man short during games.

Young Goaltenders on Display: Heading into this weekend, there were questions about what we would see from the two young goaltenders in Tyler Brennan and David Fessenden, and for the moment, any doubts about either of them have been put to rest. Brennan, who played in both games, looked sharp, stopping 27 of the 28 shots he saw on the weekend. Fessenden, who would play 33:23 on Saturday stopping 17 of the 19 shots he saw and looked good for Adirondack, especially being tested right away.

The PP: One of the biggest struggles for the Thunder during the 2023-24 season was their PP, which finished last season at 19.5%. Adirondack would find the back of the net in Friday’s preseason game vs Reading as Brendan Less found the back of the net, and then on Saturday, it would be Alex Young who scored just as time expired on the PP. I believe that one of the biggest factors heading into the 2024-25 season is that Adirondack has to find a way to score on the PP, and with a very small sample size in the preseason, I like what I’m seeing so far.