Adrenaline Fall Short Despite Spirited Comeback

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With the Australian Ice Hockey League Finals only seven weeks away, the third placed Adelaide Adrenaline were out to make a statement at home against the team that sits but one rung above on the AIHL ladder, the Melbourne Ice.
 
It was a thrilling contest that rode every wave of emotion, however it was the visitors that found away in the end, holding on for a hard-fought 4-3 victory.
 
The Ice were terrific early, playing a compact style of hockey that choked the Adrenaline of their usually free flowing and offensive style of play, hemming them in their own end and scoring at opportune moments whilst holding the omnipresent Adrenaline scoring threat at bay.
 
The Adrenaline looked a shadow of their best form in the first two periods and despite trailing 4-0 at the second break, the team found another gear and fought hard unfortunately falling short of the mark.
 
Adelaide forward, Wehebe Darge said the team knew they could play better than they did in the first two periods and really tried to up the ante in the third.
 
“We came in after the second and came to the conclusion that we had an extra gear, so we just dug a little deeper and we came together but unfortunately we gave it a good push but it wasn’t enough,” Darge said.
 
Darge was instrumental in the comeback, netting two goals in the third period, along with new Canadian import Kory Helowka who was stellar with a goal and an assist and quarterbacking an increasingly threatening Adrenaline powerplay with great poise.
 
Adrenaline Coach Ryan O’Handley praised his side’s response after a disappointing first two periods but was lost as to the reason for the momentum shift.
 
“We’re either one way or the other, we’re either like we played in third or we’re terrible. We can be a great team, we’ve seen it all year, we’ve had minutes where we’ve been up on teams, really good teams and we’re dominating and then all of a sudden we’ll have a seven or eight minute stretch where we’re terrible,” O’Handley said.
 
O’Handley also expressed disappointment in star import Tyler Grove who took a ten minute misconduct penalty in the third period after an Adrenaline goal.
 
“I can’t have one of my best players sitting for ten minutes and we had a chat about that,” O’Handley said.
 
The Adrenaline will be hoping to rebound and build off the third period momentum tomorrow as they once again face the Melbourne Ice in Adelaide.
 
Tomorrow’s game is at 3.30PM. Tickets are $15 online at adrenaline.theaihl.com or $18 at the door.