Thunder playing well despite turbulent times

Published 8:52 am Thursday, December 10, 2009

The Albert Lea Thunder have been able to put some of the off-ice distractions behind them now that the North American Hockey League has assumed control of the franchise, but it has some issues to settle on the ice this weekend.

The Thunder (6-18-2) have another chance to move out of fifth place in the Central Division this weekend, but it comes against division leader Bismarck and Alexandria. Albert Lea begins the weekend with a two-game series with Bismarck in Albert Lea and heads to Alexandra for a shot at the Blizzard.

The Thunder sit one point behind Alexandria for fourth place in the division and while this weekend is a good opportunity to move out of the cellar, it will be difficult.

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“It’s not an easy task at hand,” said Albert Lea head coach Chuck Linkenheld. “It’s a matter of who works harder on that day.”

The Thunder have found success lately; they’ve won two out of their last three games and have scored 15 goals in those three games. Part of that has had to do with the atmosphere in practice and players putting more shots on net.

Linkenheld has made practices the place where ice time for games is determined and the players have responded during games.

Chris Cass has scored four goals in the past three games and the line of Alex Niestrom, Niko Kapetanovic and Danny Wood have also found its share of points. Kapetanovic leads the team with nine goals while Wood and Niestrom are tied for second with five.

Kapetanovic has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his last four games while Niestrom has five points, including three goals and two assists in his past three games.

“I think the way we’re playing right now we could beat anyone in our division,” Kapetanovic said.

Albert Lea beat the Bobcats 2-1 in a shootout Oct. 31.

The Thunder for the first time in the franchise’s existence are starting to resemble a team capable of playing at the NAHL level.

“All along we’ve had the talent to be a legitimate North American Hockey league team,” Niestrom said. “We’re starting to show with a couple of wins … that we are a legitimate team.”

The distractions have been confusing for the players, whether the team was going to be around or not, but all the drama off the ice has made the team more of a tighter unit.

“We’ve grown to be more a family than a hockey team,” Kapetanovic said. “Maybe it has helped us. We’re just out there and it’s just us out there.”

Linkenheld was able to make some roster moves after the league took control of the team’s hockey operations. He added Taylor Ward, a United States Hockey League cut, who had been practicing with the Thunder since early November, to the active roster. Ward, a St. Paul native, saw the ice for the first time last weekend. Ricky Brown, a forward from Holt, Mich., was also added and had an assist in Friday’s game in Mason City, Iowa. Zach May, a forward from Burnsville, was another addition and May scored a goal in his first game with the Thunder Friday night against North Iowa.