Team | GP | PTS |
---|---|---|
Brave | 26 | 63 |
Norths.. | 26 | 56 |
Lightn.. | 26 | 30 |
Adrena.. | 26 | 13 |
Rhinos | 26 | 5 |
Player | Points |
---|---|
N Benson | 23 |
C Prevost | 22 |
J MacDougall | 16 |
D Chen | 14 |
PREVIEW: Adrenaline look to upset the Ice |
|
|
|
The Adelaide Adrenaline, proudly presented by Hards Transport, are off to Melbourne tomorrow for a double-header weekend with the Ice. The Melbourne Ice have yet to play a game this season and will fight for their first points vs. the Adrenaline who are coming off a 4-3 win over the defending champion Newcastle Northstars. On paper, the Ice are the team to beat this season. They are the reigning minor premiers, have former imports who have naturalised and a crop of Swedish imports who have pre-established chemistry. They will be strong, fast and skilled. It will be a tough task for the Adrenaline but the squad is anxious to get on the road and continue to make a statement to the rest of the league. The Adrenaline played exceptionally well as a unit vs. Newcastle and will need to do the same. The Adrenaline play at 4:30PM ADL Time on Saturday and 3:30PM on Sunday. The Sunday game will be live streamed but on Saturday Adrenaline fans will have to follow twitter and Facebook. Here's what to look for on the weekend: Adelaide's Multi-Line production One thing Adelaide struggled to do last season was get a second line going. There are early signs 2017 could be different.
In their home opener the second line of Marcel McGuiness, Greg Oddy and Darren Corstens were phenomenal. They connected for three of the four goals and scored them all at critical moments.
There are signs that all can make significant contributions, too. Remy likes to grind down opponents and he has an offensive upside, Best can burn the best of them in Premier League Hockey, Boyd bangs the body around and Jake Riley has great speed and smarts. If the Adrenaline are to beat the Ice it will be a three line effort.
Melbourne's incredible depth vs. Adelaide's blue line
The Adrenaline will need three lines because Melbourne has maybe the deepest roster in the league.
Melbourne will play smart hockey and spread out the Adrenaline on the big rink. If their forwards get going they are almost unstoppable as we saw last year in a 9-1 loss at home.
They also have 23-year-old Mitch Humphries who had 30 points in 2015 and looks primed for a big year.
That said, Adelaide implemented a very simple system vs. Newcastle. Adelaide will counter punch with a very strong crop of defenseman.
"I think we showed last weekend that we've got quality defencemen ready to jump in," he says. "Also our forwards did fine job supporting our defensive structure last game so I'm not too worried about their depth."
Goaltending Battle
Dayne Davis, who won the last two AIHL championships with Newcastle, transferred to Melbourne Ice in the off-season. He has been a thorn in Adelaide's side and the Adrenaline have not beat him the last six times they have faced him.
Special Teams
The Ice have boasted one of the best special teams - both on Penalty Kill and Power Play - the last few seasons. |
|
Contact Information
Adelaide Adrenaline Ice Hockey Club Inc.
Adelaide, South Australia
Australia
Design, Hosting, Online Registration & Administration Tools By:Powered By: