Print this story |
E-mail story |
This story has 13 comments Add your own |
iPod friendly | Bookmark this
What is this?
photo by Nick Gerhardt
Chuck Linkenheld took over as head coach for the Albert Lea Thunder Tuesday. Linkenheld will try to find a way to turn around a franchise that has just six wins.
New coach, new start for Thunder
Published Saturday, October 24, 2009
Few things have worked out well for the Albert Lea Thunder since the team hit the ice last season, but now the team is hoping its latest move might lead it to a more successful season.
A new season with new players brought optimism to the Albert Lea Thunder at the beginning of the 2009 campaign, but 11 games into the season the Thunder was off to a 2-9 start and team owner Barry Soskin decided a new direction was needed.
Soskin fired head coach Brad Zangs and promoted assistant coach Chuck Likenheld to the head coach position. It was a change Soskin and others on the team felt necessary as the team appeared on course for another poor season.
The Thunder finished 4-49-5 last season in its expansion year, but returned with an upgraded roster that featured five players from the national champion Little Caesar’s Major Midget team. Expectations were raised but the team was losing just as before.
Under Zangs things had grown stagnant on the team. Practices had become routine. Some on the team, like second-year forward Jake Armijo, are enthused to learn a new system.
“Every day I’m coming to the rink super excited on what we’re going to do,” Armijo said.
Linkenheld took over Tuesday and already the team feels his presence raised morale in the locker room.
“Everybody in the locker room is upbeat about it,” said second-year Thunder player Niko Kapetanovic. “It seems like we’re getting a fresh start and the guys are pretty happy about that.”
Linkenheld is a Schaumburg, Ill. native who played collegiately at Merrimack College in the mid-80s. Following his college career he moved into coaching with a AA hockey team in Schaumberg. He went on to coach Team Illinois, Chicago Young Americans and Chicago Mission, and has spent the last 11 years at the AAA level.
Likenheld met Soskin this summer when Soskin asked for his help with a tryout camp in Chicago. Eventually the scouting position led to an assistant coach position and Linkenheld joined the team this season.
Linkenheld is presented with a bevy of challenges and at the top of the list is special teams play.
Of the 54 goals Albert Lea has allowed this season 19 have been power-play goals, which is about 35 percent of the total goals allowed and ranks as the second-most in the NAHL. The Thunder has the worst penalty kill in the league and Linkenheld knows that has to change quickly if the team is going to compete in the Central Division.
“Special teams as a whole have to be much better, that’s one of my goals right now,” Linkenheld said. “The other thing is we’re giving up an average of like 33 or 35 shots a game — too much. We’re giving up too much time and space.”
Linkenheld will also have to find a way for the team to score, another area Albert Lea has struggled in this season. The Thunder have scored 28 goals this season, by far the fewest in the league and ranks near the bottom in shots.
“For us, one of the things that I’ve noticed in their offensive production is they don’t get enough traffic to the net,” Likenheld said. “We’ve had a couple goaltenders have big nights against us because they can see every shot. At this level if you’re shooting straight up at a guy and he can see it, it’s easy to stop the puck. Tips, screens and rebounds are 70 percent of goals, so we need to get traffic in front and get tips, screens and rebounds.”
Now the challenge is for Linkenheld to improve the team and begin to move players on to the collegiate level.
“Like he told us in the locker room, he’s here for us,” Armijo said. “He’s here to move us on. What he has to do to get us to win, he’s going to do.”
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?
Comments
Posted by Bird67 (anonymous) on October 24, 2009 at 5:48 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by wildman (anonymous) on October 25, 2009 at 11:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am also a Thunder fan...I don't think the coaching change is bad. I obviously don't have quit all the inside political information as you seem to, but..after completely rebuilding the team with presumably much more talent than last year, this team looks pretty much the same. They commit too many penalties (discipline), their powerplay is horrible, they don't shoot the puck enough, always out of position, and on... These all stem from coaching. A good coach should identify problem areas and teach/coach players to marked improvment. Coach Zangs hasn't shown the ability to COACH a hockey team... Good coaches make improvements, he didn't.
Posted by wildman (anonymous) on October 25, 2009 at 11:19 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by saddie (anonymous) on October 25, 2009 at 11:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
My family and I just love to go watch them play. Hopefully more fans will come out and watch them play win or lose.
Posted by Bird67 (anonymous) on October 25, 2009 at 3:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wildman
Zangs can coach, and your right, there were far to many penalties for this team to commit, but it was from the same players all time. All I was trying to say is; they needed Zangs to coach his way and not there's (Perkins and Soskin). Soskin and Perkins should also take the blame for this. He probably should have either not played those players who always commited penalties or benched them. If you saw the scores and gamesheet on the games in Topeka, they had no discipline at all on the penalty front. I just hope Coach Linkenheld will have better control and discipline ovr these boys. Good Luck Thunder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by big_papi28 (anonymous) on October 25, 2009 at 5:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with bird67.. Soskins and Perkins need to keep there noses out of the coaches job and let the coach do what he feels is necessary... Have either one of you noticed who gets the most ice time out there.. Ya Jimmie.. Why? Cuz of daddy, sickening.. Go back to the first game and play those exact lines again i guarantee they win more games...first game or not those lines were awesome they actually looked and played like a team.. have not seen that same team since...
Posted by Bird67 (anonymous) on October 25, 2009 at 9:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeh, one of the dad's over heard Perkins bitching to Zangs that his kid only got 4 shifts in one period, and I saw that Jimmy didn't play in a game vs Topeka, and I bet the new coach got an ear ful. Again I hope they let Mr. Linkenheld coach, because they did get rid of a good coach in Zangs. Good Luck Thunder!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Just4me (anonymous) on October 26, 2009 at 12:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
They got rid of a coach who couldnt do his job and when they brought in an assistant to babysit you should have all seen it coming.Zangs was let go cause he couldnt or wouldnt perform and change what needed to be changed..This has nothing to do with players or management. Zangs scouted his own team and got to run it his way and this season was looking like a repeat of last year.So stop blaming the players From "chicago" and let all the players focus on why their here and thats to play a game they love!!!!
Posted by Bird67 (anonymous) on October 26, 2009 at 8:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey Just4me.
Zangs could do his job, Zangs was let go because, he sat Jimmy Perkins in Alexandria. You can't say that Zangs was let go, because he didn't change what needed to be. He had no choice of who played the most during games, and when he did have the chance to run it his way, funny he won 2 games when he did it his way. And yes you do blame management, they are the ones who say who plays and who dosn't. And they did have every intention of firing Zangs no matter what when they hired Mr. Linenheld. And as for the boys from Chicago stay clean, you know who you are. Go Thunder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mr. Linkenheld Beat Bismark, and Boys Play Hard.
Posted by ChicagoCommon (anonymous) on October 27, 2009 at 7:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Any person that takes this coaching job is just a puppet for the ownership. They do not want a good coach because he would get rid of a majority of the players. Due to disipline, drugs, and lack of talent. The best coach they had quit because he could see all the buls***t that was coming down the line( Paul Willett). The bottom line is this team will be no mre than a good ole boys team until this ownership group is out.
Posted by big_papi28 (anonymous) on October 27, 2009 at 7:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Just4me... Funny how you talk about kids from "chicago" have you looked at the roster.. 90 percent of the kids are from Illinois and i know for sure one of the scouts is also from chicago.. that has nothing to do with it as far as where they are from.. and as for jimmie he is a good kid i know that but any kid in any sport that has a parent higher up into management like that does usually get "spoiled" by the coach and if it dont happen the coach is at fault.. the thunder have a great team looks better then last year they just need it to be put together the right way...
Posted by ChicagoCommon (anonymous) on October 27, 2009 at 7:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Any person that takes this coaching job is just a puppet for the ownership. They do not want a good coach because he would get rid of a majority of the players. Due to disipline, drugs, and lack of talent. The best coach they had quit because he could see all the buls***t that was coming down the line( Paul Willett). The bottom line is this team will be no more than a good ole boys team until this ownership group is out.
Posted by realhockeyknowledge (anonymous) on November 7, 2009 at 12:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
check out pointstreak, you might find that your "superstars" arent exacty superstars.. sorry to disappoint all of you..
Post a comment (Terms of Use Policy)
(Requires free registration.)