First period woes hurt Adrenaline in season opening loss

At the end of the Agile Group Adelaide Adrenaline's season opening 6-2 loss to the Melbourne Mustangs, all head coach Jim Fuyarchuk wanted was a time machine. 

"If only we could turn back the clock and play that first period again," said the coach. "That one really hurt us."

Did it ever. The Mustangs poured on four early goals and drove out to a commanding 4-0 lead.

"It's too bad because in the second and third there were some real positives. If only we could turn the clock back," said Fuyarchuk.

Poor rebound control and the inability to match the physicality of the Mustangs in front of the net led to the four tallies.

Goals to Pat O'Kane, import Christian Isaacson, Mitch Humphries and Jamie Bourke all felt eerily similar - off rebounds or loose pucks in tight.

Adelaide had three early power play opportunities but a lack of communication saw them go by the wayside. The chances were there, but the conversion was not.

Melbourne fired 16 pucks on import goalie Jesse Gordichuck in the first period but he was often left with limited support.

"Not his fault at all," says Fuyarchuk. "We needed to be a bit more responsibile defensively but to the guys credit they found a way to turn it around." 

That's where that time machine would have been handy.

Adelaide played a strong second and third period, outplaying the Mustangs for good stretches, working their way back into the game. 

The young team stayed patient and kept their composure. 

It started early in the second when Nathaniel Benson, now in his second AIHL season, rifled a beautiful shot top corner to make it 4-1. 

Josef Rezek and Andrew Stapleton were also denied point blank. Adelaide ran into penalty trouble and relied on import goalie Jesse Gordichuck to bail them out and keep them in the game. 

"He was outstanding," said forward Nate Benson after the game. "He kept us in it and gave us something positive to build on. I'm not sure how he made some of those saves but it gives you a jolt that's for sure."

Gordichuck flashed the leather, dove across the crease, controlled rebounds and made sometimes seemingly impossible saves. At the end of the game, he faced a grand total of 50 shots. 

Midway through the third, Benson drew a penalty and put Adelaide on the power play with a chance to cut the lead to two. 

A Zach Boyle score made it 4-2. 

Game on. 

At 4-2 and the time peeling off the clock the next goal was crucial. 

Adelaide kept pushing for the next one but Jayden Pine Murphy stood tall in net. 

A source of that inspired play was from the likes of maturing players like Jake Riley and Nathaniel Benson. 

"You can see some of the younger guys are playing with more awareness, confidence and patience," says Fuyarchuk. "They've taken a big step and will only get better."

Benson says he worked a lot on his fitness in the off-season. 

"Just knowing what it takes to play in the league helps a lot. I worked on getting stronger in the break and I think it helped a lot."

"It also helps having a good group of guys in there. Everyone is supportive, wants to be here, enjoys being here, so it makes it easier to work harder for them."

Adelaide kept the spirited comeback coming but Jayden Pine Murphy kept denying the pesky Adrenaline. Finally, with under three minutes to play, a Christian Isaacson break away sealed it for the home side.

The Mustangs had five different goal scorers with Isaacson leading the way with two. Jamie Bourke, Pat O'Kane, Mitch Humphries and Matt Anderson had the others. 

Adelaide had goals from Boyle and Benson. Boyle also chipped in with an assist, while captain Josef Rezek had a pair of helpers. Jake Riley had the other assist.

Adelaide will regroup and play the Melbourne Ice on Sunday at 4PM AEST.

"There's mixed emotions from this game. From a coaching perspective, if we're doing our job consistently, guys are resposibile defensively and we can do it for a full game the results will take care of itself. Communication is a big part of it so we just need to keep going to work," he says.