The Thunder have taken over the state of Delaware by storm, after their first home game was a sell out. Fast forward five more games, and the new hockey team in the small town of Harrington, Delaware was 1-5 to start their first season.
This young Thunder team came into the Mentor Ice Breakers game on a high after a good week of practice, as they were stoked to play in front their home crowd on Military appreciation night. They looked to get their season back on track, with a big “W” against the Ice Breakers.
Fortunately, the Thunder had their legs early in this one, as it appeared netminder Aaron Taylor would have a fairly easy night in net. However, it was anything but blissful, as the Thunder were rocked by the Ice Breakers 5-2. Fortunately, the fans were in this game from start to finish.
Warm-Ups
Aaron Taylor skates enters the ice like a bolt of lightning. Only one shooter scored on him during 1-on-1 drills, and that was Ryan Marker over the right shoulder of Taylor.
Anton Kalinin
The Thunder are hoping to become a consistent hockey team this season. Getting off to a good start early in the season was a must for this young bunch, but things haven’t turned out that way. Enter Kalinin to provide the Thunder with a more scoring punch.
Kalinin is still trying to get his bearings with the Thunderfollowing a trade during the middle of the week, but he did manage to tally an assist on Marker’s first goal of the night. He adds speed, and has a wicked wrist shot to boot. Kalinin made his presence known offensively in just his firsr game as a member of the Thunder.
Aaron Taylor
The young prized possession of the Thunder in Taylor had a rough night, while allowing 4 goals on just 14 shots faced. He was eventually pulled in the second period, in favor of backup netminder Morgan Hudson. Hudson played well, with only allowing one goal on 19 shots faced. Hudson finished the game with a .950 Save Percentage.
Ryan Marker and Brandon Contratto
Both of these players are turning out to be a leaders for this Thunder team that needed some direction to get back on the right track for their season. The 25-year-old in Marker has now tallied eight goals, and chipped in eight assists on the season in just seven games played, “It’s great to put the puck in the net, but at the end of the day we want to win games, and that didn’t happen,” Marker said, “The fans have Benn unbelievable from the start of the season, and it hasn’t gone down at all. They have been consistent. We have these Thunda packs, and people holding boom sticks. It’s unbelievable, and we can’t thank them enough.”
Contratto has tallied six goals, and dished out nine apples for the season in seven games played. Like Marker, Contratto just has a knack for the net. He tallied an assist on Marker’s second goal tonight.
Egor Kostyukov
Newly acquired Kostyukov from Watertown looked confident tonight. He was not afraid to take the puck up the ice, and the team played well defensively for his efforts.
The Fans
The fans were insane from start to finish. They really made the game fun, and they love the rough stuff. My gosh when there’s a fight everyone stands, cheers, and they love to see their Thunder player win the bout. Even though, the Thunder lost 5-2, after the game was finished, one would have thought they won the game.
Let’s hope the Thunder can get back on track, as they face the Mentor Ice Breakers again at 630 pm tonight in Ohio.
