The Adrenaline face the Mustangs in a home double-header

A desire to compete in the face of adverstiry will be once again driving the Adelaide Adrenaline, proudly presented by Hards Transport, when they return home this weekend for a double-header against the Melbourne Mustangs.

Adversity has come in many forms for the Adrenaline this season, and the team now faces an uphill battle with three of its core defenseman unlikely to take to the ice after horror injuries last weekend in Canberra.

Sean Greer, Ted Fabijan and import Zack Firlotte were all hospitalised at the weekend, continuing an injury curse that has haunted the Adrenaline in numerous trips to Canberra over recent weekends.

Adrenaline coach Eric Lien expressed his pride in the Adrenaline not folding against Canberra after the three big injuries and expects his side will bring the same effort this weekend in spite of the looming roster shake-up.

“The comments from opposition fans are enough to show how respected the guys were for competing the way they did in Canberra,” Lien said.

“To lose that many guys in weekend could have given the guys reason to fold the tent but they kept at it and played it out until the end.”

With finals now all but out of reach for the Adrenaline, Lien said the focus will be climbing as high as possible in the standings to prove to the competition that this Adelaide team is not far off the mark and a danger going forward.

“It is frustrating for the guys because they know this team is close to competing for a Finals spot but we have not had it go our way this season,” Lien said.

“Some of the issues have been out of our control and some have been our own doing.”

A strong result this weekend would go a long way to securing that goal for Lien’s side. The Adrenaline sit nine points back from the fifth-placed Mustangs, who have a game in hand, but two wins to the home side all but eliminate the point gap between the two teams.

Adelaide has put together a string of competitive performances at the Ice ArenA of late, losing by just one-goal in three of their last four home games.

“We showed a lot of fight against Newcastle and I was proud of the compete level the guys brought to the weekend,” Lien said.

“As a group there was some consistency in how we executed the game plan and how the playing group started to get on the same page.”

Tickets are still available for both games this weekend but are selling fast, so get in quick to avoid disappointment.

This weekend, the Adrenaline will also be presenting the state U/13 team that will be competing in the Ginsberg National Champions in August as well as hosting a figure skating demonstration.

Tickets available via TryBooking: http://www.trybooking.com/LCOZ