Post-Game Recap: Adrenaline pick up first win since 2018 against Rhinos

The Adelaide Adrenaline rolled into the Central Coast tonight looking for their first franchise win since 2018, their opponent, the Rhinos, are also winless after returning to the league through expansion this year. 

A light opening schedule for the Adrenaline left the team with two heartbreaking losses across two weeks. On the other hand, the Rhinos have been pounded by a -40 goal differential in their first four games. For the Adrenaline, this weekend is a perfect opportunity to break their winless streak and build some momentum. For the Rhinos, they are desperate to tighten the score lines and show the league they can compete.

The puck dropped and the game got underway on the large olympic sized sheet at Erina Ice Arena. 

A few minutes into the game it was Darcy Walsh who took a tripping penalty, getting the Rhinos onto an early power-play.

With that, they got the start they desperately wanted, local Saxon Air sinking it on the power-play from import Joakim Erdugan and David James-Jeremy to make it 0-1 in the Rhinos favour.

Not the start the Adrenaline needed or wanted, but clearly they had a short memory.

Only a few minutes later, Andrew Chen got behind the net, dragged the defender in, and fed it to Benson in front of the net who buried it for his first goal of the season on the one timer, secondary assist to Jordan Freeman. 

Holding the momentum, the Adrenaline quickly drew a charging call against the Rhinos, getting to work on the power-play.

Zach Boyle slung it across the blue line to Benson, who ripped it from the point. The puck was tipped by Andrew Hamilton who extended his scoring streak to 3 games, continuing to solidify his position in the Australian ice hockey scene.

As mentioned prior to the game, the Adrenaline needed to come in with a killer instinct, a huge hit at 12:11 by Zach Steele shifted the momentum even further in their favour

Shortly after, the Rhinos Aidan Wardlaw would head to the box for a slash. Putting the Adrenaline on their second power-play within a few minute span. Darcy Walsh continued to standout as a strong puck mover on this opportunity, shifting the play up and down the zone with confidence. The Rhinos would kill it off, albeit unconvincingly.

With the whistles clearly out on display, the Adrenaline took 2 penalties in the last 10 minutes of the first. In an aggressive play on the penalty kill, they would form up a 3 on 1 rush into the Rhinos zone, with Joey MacDougall banking it off Zach Boyle’s skate and into the net. It was Boyle’s first of the season, 3-1 the score.

In the trend of quick pairs, less than a minute later Ben Handberg would snap a shot past the tender for another first of the season, fed by a pass from import Kevin Yu who made a great play to pick it up behind the net. Julian Friederich picked up the secondary assist for his first point as a member of the Adrenaline. 

4-1 leaving the first period.

Moving into the second period, the Adrenaline continued to dominate and were seriously threatening to run away with it more than they already had. 

A zone clear by the Rhinos led to a quick reentry with Andrew Chen making a cross-crease pass to Hamilton, who couldn’t get a handle on it.

The game took an ugly turn as a zone entry by the Adrenaline led to Darcy Walsh taking a cheap shot to the head by a Rhinos shoulder. 

The referee’s claimed not to have seen the hit, with Walsh being told to get up and get back into the play as the clocked kept rolling. Walsh appeared to be in serious discomfort and struggled to get up, let alone get off the ice. No penalty was called and no whistle was blown. 

In the same bracket of play, Nathaniel Benson reentered the zone and ripped it past Polglase’s glove for his second gaol and third point of the night. 5-1 the score.

Some strong words were exchanged with the referees by Adrenaline captain Joey MacDougall as Walsh left the bench.

In an act of vengeance for his fallen teammate, Zach Steele took the puck off the face-off, toe-dragging around the defence and sending it low blocker past the Rhinos goaltender in a fantastic solo effort, 6-1. His second goal of the season.

The Adrenaline’s zone time continued, opportunity after opportunity kept the squeeze on the Rhinos. 

However, with high pressure comes the risk of penalties, and it was Steele who took it too far and ended up in the box for a Rhinos power-play. 

A breakdown by the Adelaide penalty kill led to a lucky bounce off Trnka and onto the stick of the backdoor man, Jayden Ryan potted it home to make it 6-2 before the halfway mark of the game, marking the Rhinos’ second power-play goal of the game.

Heightened by the cheap hit on Walsh, tensions boiled over after a Joey Macdougall hook in front of the Adelaide bench, with Hamilton, Chen, and Hazel all coming in to stand up for the captain. Incidental penalties for fighting put a player from each team in the box but the original penalty from MacDougall put the Rhinos back on the power play.

A questionably weak call for a trip on the Adrenaline led to a 5-3 power play for the Rhinos. The Adrenaline managed to kill off both penalties and were rewarded with a power-play shortly after, with a Wardlaw brother going to the box for holding. Adelaide started the power play with 37 shots on net.

A slew of penalties continued to spatter the closing minutes of the second period, but no one could get on the board. A scramble in front of the Adrenaline net almost made it 6-3 but the buzzer cut it short to save the away team.

Going into the 3rd period, 6-2 Adrenaline and a Rhinos power play to start the frame.

The home team started the third period with a quick rush off the draw as the first penalty expired, leaving them with a 1 minute power play. A huge block by Noah Maley at the point got the puck down the ice and turned over into Adelaide possession. 

The Adrenaline forecheck continued to shine, forcing multiple turnovers while the Rhinos attempted to breakout unsuccessfully.

After a fantastic shift, it was longtime Adrenaline player Ryan Foll who managed to reach the rebound off a Freeman point shot, 7-2 Adrenaline with Foll’s first of the season. The marker comes in his 110th career AIHL game.

The Adrenaline pressure continued, more shots continued to pepper Polglase but the momentum was halted by an Andrew Hamilton minor penalty.

But it was the captain Joey MacDougall who didn’t want to hear it, a great sweep in pick-pocket on the Rhinos blue line got him into the zone alone where he ripped it top corner for the second short-handed goal of the game. In a night of firsts, it was also his first goal of the season.

Penalty killed off, every inch of momentum in Adelaide’s favour, they earned another power-play from a trip on Tyler Leeming.

Another close chance for Foll with a backhand in the slot, but the Rhinos managed to kill it off.

Rhinos relief goaltender Luka Dimopoulos came in with 15 minutes left, holding the teams pride in the game for the last frame. He stopped a number of hot opportunities.

Adelaide kept the foot on the gas, home team clearly on the back foot, the Adrenaline’s fitness and conditioning keeping the pressure consistent.

However, it was the Central Coast import Joakim Erdugan who got on the board late, a nice move around the net got Trnka on the ground where he buried it over his pad. 8-3.

Within 20 seconds of the goal, the Rhinos got a breakaway but were offside, the player not hearing the whistle and continuing to shoot the puck on Trnka. As expected, the Adrenaline squad took exception, starting off a huge scrum along the boards in a night that would contain many extra-curricular activities of the sort.

A Rhinos player sent to the locker room would be another gut shot for an already crushed squad, and to add insult to injury, a Kevin Yu pass would get the puck ahead to MacDougall  who buried it to make the score 9-3. His second of the game.

A late Rhinos penalty would seal their fate, with nothing to fight back with in the dying minutes.

Final score: 9-3 for the Adrenaline
 

Adelaide Adrenaline shots on goal: 62 (20-22-20)

Central Coast Rhinos shots on goal: 16 (7-6-3)

Adrenaline 1 for 6 on the power-play. 24 penalty minutes

Rhinos 2 for 10 on the power-play. 24 penalty minutes
 

With the victory, the Adelaide Adrenaline take their first franchise win since July 2018. A convincing one at that. A heavily penalised game led to 10 penalty kills, with Adelaide killing off 80%. This is a noticeable improvement over previous results, even potting 2 short-handed goals to put the icing on the cake. A 1 for 6 power-play for the Adrenaline is not totally representative of the chances and control they had with the man advantage, but they will have to work on their finishing power.

It was a night of firsts with 4 Adrenaline players opening their scoring for the season. Standout performances include Benson and MacDougall each with a pair of goals. Hamilton extending his goal-streak to 4 games. Boyle, Yu, and Benson with 3 point games and MacDougall with 4 points. Freeman and A. Chen also had 2 points, with a total of 13 Adrenaline players getting a point.

A night like this is difficult for a goaltender as they struggle to stay warm and focused, but Trnka performed admirably, facing 16 shots and taking home the win, which is the most important stat in the end.

Adelaide has also not slowed down with their minor penalties, taking 12 total on the game, however the referees were strong on the whistles, a larger sample size is needed to see if that is a problem going down the stretch. Darcy Walsh is also likely to be out following the uncalled cheap-shot to the head, updates to follow.

With the monkey now off the back, the Adrenaline now look to Sunday to make it 2-2 on the season. 3:00pm Adelaide time.