Adirondack Thunder

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Adirondack Thunder
2021–22 ECHL season
Adirondack Thunder logo.svg
CityGlens Falls, New York
LeagueECHL
ConferenceEastern
DivisionNorth
Founded1990
Home arenaCool Insuring Arena
Colors       
Owner(s)Adirondack Civic Center Coalition
General managerJeff Mead
Head coachAlex Loh
MediaThe Post-Star
AffiliatesNew Jersey Devils (NHL)
Utica Comets (AHL)
Franchise history
1990–1992Cincinnati Cyclones
1992–2001Birmingham Bulls
2001–2005Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
2005–2015Stockton Thunder
2015–presentAdirondack Thunder
Championships
Division Championships2 (2016–17, 2017–18)

The Adirondack Thunder are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL that began play in the 2015–16 season. The team is based in Glens Falls, New York, and affiliated with the NHL's New Jersey Devils. The Thunder play their home games at the Cool Insuring Arena.

The Thunder replaced the AHL's Adirondack Flames after it was relocated to Stockton, California, to become the Stockton Heat.

History[]

On January 29, 2015, the Calgary Flames announced that they would be moving their AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Flames, to Stockton as one of five charter members of the AHL's new Pacific Division.[1] The next day, the Flames announced that the ECHL's Stockton Thunder (who they had purchased the day before) would move to Glens Falls in what was essentially a "market swap".

The Thunder name, logo and colors were unveiled on February 11, 2015.[2] Cail MacLean was announced the team's first head coach on July 23, 2015.[3]

The Thunder made the playoffs during their first season and were the first Adirondack hockey team to make the playoffs in ten years. They defeated the favored Manchester Monarchs four-games-to-one in the first round, becoming the first team in Glens Falls to win a playoff series since the Adirondack Red Wings in 1994. They faced the South Carolina Stingrays in the second round, which they lost in seven games.

During their second season, the league announced the sale of the Thunder from Calgary Sports and Entertainment to a local ownership group called Adirondack Civic Center Coalition on February 28, 2017.[4] The Thunder were the third of the three displaced franchises from the 2015 creation of the AHL Pacific Division to be sold by their NHL owners after relocating. However, in order for the new ownership group to complete the purchase of the team, they needed to raise $500,000 by a June 30, 2017, deadline and have since been asking for donations and hosting fundraisers.[5] The new ownership group completed the purchase on time but were in debt. They were able to sell the naming rights of the Glens Falls Civic Center to become the Cool Insuring Arena to cover some of the operating costs.[6]

With the Flames no longer operating the team, the Flames and Thunder ended their affiliation following the 2016–17 season.[7] Head coach MacLean would also leave to join the Flames' AHL affiliate in Stockton as an assistant coach.[8] The Thunder would then officially become the ECHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils for the 2017–18 season,[9] and later extended the affiliation agreement for the 2018–19 season.[10] For the Thunder's first two seasons, the Devils' organization had been sending players to Glens Falls due to the proximity of their previous AHL affiliate, the Albany Devils. The Thunder also hired Brad Tapper as its next head coach.

Under Tapper, the Thunder finished the 2017–18 season first in their division and advanced to the conference finals before losing to the Florida Everblades four games to one. The Devils and the Thunder renewed their affiliation for another season. Tapper was then hired by the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL as an assistant coach[11] and was replaced by Alex Loh as head coach for the 2018–19 ECHL season.[12]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Thunder voluntarily suspended operations for the 2020–21 ECHL season.[13]

Rivals[]

The Manchester Monarchs were the Thunder's main rival.[citation needed] Following both franchises relocating from California, the two teams met for four straight seasons in the Kelly Cup playoffs. The teams each won two series, alternating years, before the Monarchs ceased operations in 2019. The Thunder also have rivalries with the Reading Royals, Brampton Beast, Maine Mariners, and Worcester Railers.[citation needed]

Season-by-season records[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA Standing Year 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Kelly Cup
2015–16 72 38 28 2 4 82 197 189 2nd, East Div. 2016 W, 4–1, MAN L, 3–4, SC — —
2016–17 72 41 20 7 4 93 266 218 1st, North Div. 2017 L, 2–4, MAN — — —
2017–18 72 41 24 3 4 89 233 221 1st, North Div. 2018 W, 4–2, WOR W, 4–2, MAN L, 1–4, FLA —
2018–19 72 37 26 6 3 83 234 220 2nd, North Div. 2019 L, 1–4, MAN — — —
2019–20 62 22 28 8 5 57 197 219 5th, North Div. 2020 Season cancelled
2020–21 Opted out of participating due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 Did not participate

Players and personnel[]

Current roster[]

Updated September 9, 2021.[14][15]
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
– United States Rob Bordson C L 33 2021 Duluth, Minnesota Thunder
– Canada RW R 30 2018 Saint-Elzéar, Quebec Thunder
– United States D L 26 2021 Mound, Minnesota Thunder
– United States F R 26 2021 Averill Park, New York Thunder
– United States Shane Harper RW R 32 2021 Valencia, California Thunder
– United States C R 26 2021 Hicksville, New York Thunder
– United States Colin Long C R 32 2021 Santa Ana, California Thunder
– United States Pete MacArthur C L 36 2021 Clifton Park, New York Thunder
– United States D R 27 2021 Kings Park, New York Thunder
– United States C R 25 2021 Pacific Palisades, California Thunder
– United States G L 27 2021 Tinley Park, Illinois Thunder
– Canada D L 28 2017 Listowel, Ontario Thunder

Team captains[]

  • Rob Bordson, 2015
  • Pete MacArthur, 2016–2017
  • Mike Bergin, 2017–2018
  • James Henry, 2018–2020 [16]

Head coaches[]

  • Cail MacLean, 2015–2017
  • Brad Tapper, 2017–18
  • , 2018–present

References[]

  1. ^ "Flames AHL affiliate to join new Pacific Division". Calgary Flames. January 29, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  2. ^ "Calgary named Adirondack Thunder". The Post-Star. February 11, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  3. ^ "ADIRONDACK NAMES CAIL MACLEAN AS HEAD COACH". ECHL. July 23, 2015. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  4. ^ "Civic Center Coalition to buy hockey team". The Post-Star. February 28, 2017.
  5. ^ "Effort to 'keep hockey here' struggling". The Post-Star. April 27, 2017.
  6. ^ "Cool Insuring buys naming rights to Civic Center". The Post-Star. July 11, 2017.
  7. ^ "MAVERICKS BECOME ECHL AFFILIATE OF CALGARY, STOCKTON". ECHL. June 8, 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-06-08. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  8. ^ "Stockton announces Cail MacLean will be assistant coach". The Post-Star. August 3, 2017.
  9. ^ "Adirondack Thunder enter affiliation agreement with New Jersey Devils". NHL.com. August 8, 2017.
  10. ^ "Thunder, Devils extend agreement". The Post-Star. May 24, 2018.
  11. ^ "CYCLONES' MACDONALD, THUNDER'S TAPPER NAMED ASSISTANT COACHES IN GRAND RAPIDS". ECHL. July 2, 2018. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  12. ^ "Alex Loh Named Adirondack Thunder Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations". OurSportsCentral.com. July 18, 2018.
  13. ^ "NORTH DIVISION ELECTS SUSPENSION OF PLAY FOR 2020-21 SEASON". ECHL. November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  14. ^ "Adirondack Thunder Roster". Adirondack Thunder. 2021-07-23. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  15. ^ "Adirondack Thunder Elite Prospects". EliteProspects.com. 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  16. ^ "JAMES HENRY NAMED FOURTH CAPTAIN IN ADIRONDACK THUNDER HISTORY". Adirondack Thunder. October 13, 2018.

External links[]

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