Trenton Break Drought With Sold-Out Victory
Professional hockey finally returned to the win column in New Jersey’s capital on Saturday night, as the Trenton Ironhawks earned their first home victory in franchise history. In front of a sold-out crowd of 7,032 fans at CURE Insurance Arena, the Trenton Ironhawks defeated the Adirondack Thunder 4-1, according to reporting from thewhitonline.com and trentonironhawks.com.
Before Saturday, the last home victory in Trenton belonged to the Trenton Titans, who played as the ECHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils when they defeated the Wheeling Nailers more than a decade ago. The newly minted Ironhawks, now serving as the ECHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, rewrote that history in their inaugural home game.
Colella Sets the Tone Near Home
The first home goal in franchise history arrived with 4:57 remaining in the first period, though trentonironhawks.com notes the exact time at 15:43. Forward Mikey Colella, a Turnersville native playing just roughly 45 minutes from his hometown, skated up the neutral zone, bypassed the Adirondack defenders, and slipped a wrist shot past Thunder goaltender Jeremy Brodeur from the left-wing side. Liam Coughlin and Max Patterson collected the assists on Colella’s second goal of the season.
“It just means everything, playing far away for the last nine years,” Colella told thewhitonline.com. “It’s been a lot for my family to try to come watch me play, and it’s nice when you finally get a 45-minute drive in to be able to come up and watch me play.”
Colella spent last season with the Utah Grizzlies, the franchise that subsequently relocated to Trenton. The proximity allowed his grandparents to attend the game.
“Just having my grandparents in the building, I can go home and see them whenever I want,” Colella said. “My grandparents are starting to get there up in age a little bit, so it’s tough for them to travel. It’s just gonna be a little bit emotional.”
Trenton Scores Twice to Secure the Win
Trenton widened its advantage at 8:10 of the second period. During the tail end of a long shift, Colella raced for a loose puck near the far side of the neutral zone, tumbled over a diving Adirondack defenseman, and poked the puck forward. John Gelatt chased it down and scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-0, with Colella earning the lone assist.
Adirondack narrowed the gap early in the third period when Shane Harper capitalized on a rebound at 4:05. However, the Ironhawks answered late in regulation. With 2:42 left on the clock, defenseman Brennan Kapcheck fired a shot from the point through traffic and underneath the crossbar for his first goal of the season, restoring a two-goal cushion with assists from Coughlin and Ryan Bottrill, as detailed by trentonironhawks.com.
Kyle Penney sealed the 4-1 outcome with an empty-net goal with 1:36 remaining.
Goaltenders Record Impressive Saves During Game
Coughlin paced the Ironhawks offense with three assists, while Colella finished with a goal and an assist, and Bottrill contributed two helpers. In the crease, Ryan Fanti stopped 28 of 29 shots in his first start of the season to earn the historic victory. Adirondack goaltender Jeremy Brodeur stopped 23 of 26 shots.
Special teams remained quiet on the evening. The Ironhawks finished 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Thunder went 0-for-2 with the man advantage. Emotions flared in the final seconds, resulting in a post-whistle scrum as time expired.
The Ironhawks return to the ice on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. to face the Reading Royals.
