Thunder near midpoint

Published 8:30 am Thursday, December 18, 2008

The Albert Lea Thunder will finish off its first 30 games of existence beginning Thursday with Alexandria. The Thunder returns home Friday to play North Iowa and then heads to Mason City before the holiday break begins.

Although the team has just two wins in its first 27 games, Thunder head coach Brad Zangs has seen the team mature and grow more accustomed to the NAHL style of play recently. Albert Lea has been more competitive in its games as well.

The last time the Thunder traveled to Alexandria the team picked up its second win with a 5-1 victory over the Blizzard and battled in a one-goal loss. Against North Iowa last weekend Albert Lea lost a one-goal game Friday night, before losing 9-3 in a penalty-filled game that saw the Outlaws have five, 5-on-3 power plays.

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Alexandria leads the division once again, but has split its last three series. North Iowa continues to be on the upswing as the Outlaws have won six of their last seven and are now in third place in the division, just two points back of the Blizzard.

“I like our chances this weekend,” Zangs said. “We’ve already beat Alexandria. We’ve always played close with Alexandria. North Iowa — I really believe we can beat North Iowa.”

The key for a successful finish to the first stretch of games will be Albert Lea’s aggressiveness and crashing the net to find scoring opportunities.

“They’ve got to learn to go to the net,” Zangs said. “A lot of these kids like to stay out away from the net, but they need to go to the net. That’s inexperience. If we go to the net we’re scoring five goals. If we don’t go to the net we’re scoring two or three.”

Zangs said some of the players are still uncomfortable going to the net because it is a new component they are adding to their game. Many did not have to crash the net in their high school careers and scored from the perimeter more often, he said.

“They might be the kids that came from high school where they never had to crash the net,” Zangs said. “They were the players out on the perimeter, they didn’t have to worry about stuff like that.”

That reluctance to crash the net comes from Albert Lea’s youth as the team has 10 players with 1990 birth years that are playing their first year of junior hockey.

“Guys finally grasp this level,” said Niko Kapetanovic, who is in his second year of playing in the NAHL. “It took me a little bit last year to adjust to the North American League. Now that everybody is adjusting, we’re starting to click more as a team. Once everyone is on the same page we’re going to have a lot more success.”

The Thunder’s rise in competitiveness has coincided with the team’s increased aggression on the ice, but Albert Lea has to maintain a balance of aggression so it doesn’t take unnecessary penalties that hurt the team.

“We’re just going to have to make sure we stay out of the box,” Kapetanovic said. “It’s going to be more of a mental thing for us this weekend.”

Thunder forwards Mitch Torrel and Danny Wood have continued to provide much of the offense for Albert Lea. Torrel has recorded five points in his last five games, including three goals against Alexandria last time out. Wood has six points in his last five games which includes a three-point game against the Blizzard and a two-point game against North Iowa.

The big question mark remains the defense. The Thunder lost two defensemen last week when Jeff Lesmeister and Robbie Vannelli decided to enroll in college. Albert Lea has added Justin Blum and John Griffith to bolster the defense corps. The Thunder also brought in two defensemen this week as well, each will see ice time this weekend.

The influx of the defensive unit has affected the team, Zangs said.

“They’re trying to find chemistry and cohesiveness,” Zangs said. “That’s tough when you have a couple of guys quit. It seems like it’s a revolving door. It’s hard on the kids.”

The Thunder will get its first extended break from the ice after this weekend. Albert Lea won’t play its next game until Dec. 31 and that time away from the ice will be beneficiary for the team. Zangs would like the players to not think about hockey during that time.

”They’re a young group of kids,” Zangs said. “They need a break. This will refresh their brain for a little bit.”