Date Published: 11-14-2022
Photo Credit: The Delaware Thunder
A hockey team in the small town of slower-lower Delaware, in Harrington, was founded by Charlie Pens Sr, and it’s been a match made in heaven with Delawareans ever since. However, the Delaware Thunder continue to struggle, not attendance wise, but continue to struggle to win hockey games in the FPHL.
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I’m sure General Manger and Head Coach Lou Santini would like to limit the opposing team shots a bit more, but it’s not correlating on the ice with the Thunder. Just this past weekend (Two Games) against the Carolina Thunderbirds. The Thunder netminders in Michael McHale and Trevor Martin were pelted with 99 total shots. Martin was pelted with 45 shots, while McHale faced 54 shots.
Obviously, this is not a recipe for success, and it is quite evident with their 1-7 record on the season thus far. For the season, Martin has faced a total of 296 shots in just seven games played, which is good for approximately 43 shots per game. It’s just tough to win hockey games or remain competitive with the amount of shots, not just shots, but quality shots faced on a nightly basis.
The effort is there for this young Thunder club, they are a very competitive team. However, this is just not a recipe for success for the remainder of the season. The Thunder have to control the puck more, block more shots, get into more lanes. Puck possession is a crucial aspect in limiting shots.
Fortunately, the Thunder are having no trouble with scoring goals, as they are averaging 3.6 goals per game this season. However, their goal differential is an horrendous -21. Again limiting shots would bring down this number dramatically, so let’s hope this improves as the season wears on.
I feel like the Thunder are right there, and they are lucky to have a good young netminder in Martin. Things will get better, Santini is a good coach. He’s the right man to right the ship for the remainder of the season.
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