Courtesy Adirondack Thunder
By Paul Post
The Adirondack Thunder set a three-game franchise attendance record of 14,869 during a March 8-10 weekend series against the Wheeling Nailers, highlighted by a crowd of 5,426 that turned out for Country Night festivities.
The Thunder have already had 13 sell-outs and are expected to surpass last year’s regular-season total (14) with six more home games on tap including Stick it to Cancer Weekend (March 28-29) and Fan Appreciation Weekend (April 11-12).
More than 900 season tickets, almost half this year’s total (2,150), have already been sold for next year including 90 new customers
The Thunder won’t make this spring’s Kelly Cup playoffs, but are battling hard to build momentum for a successful 2025-26 campaign. Adirondack’s beat Wheeling, one of the ECHL’s top teams, twice with shutouts including a dramatic 1-0 victory in overtime.
“Finishing strong and competitive is very important to the team and our fan base,” Thunder President Jeff Mead said. “For the players, it allows them to continue to showcase their talents to the organization and for future opportunities. To our fans, we need to make sure they are aware that we understand it’s our job and obligation to give 100 percent until the very end.”
Coach Pete MacArthur said, “Sometimes you can only go as far as your fan base will carry you. If we don’t have the fans here, we literally don’t have a team. We need them to always stick by us. There may be weeks, months, years where it doesn’t go the way any of us want it to, but it’s not going to stay like that forever. So we’ve just got to stick together.”
The Thunder have the second-highest average attendance figure (4,521) in the seven-team North Division, surpassed only by Norfolk, and have brought more than 130,000 fans to downtown Glens Falls this season.
On Stick it to Cancer Weekend, players will wear special themed jerseys that will be auctioned off to raise money for Glens Falls Hospital’s CR Wood Cancer Center. There will be a T-shirt giveaway for the first 1,000 adult fans on Saturday.
Players will also wear special jerseys during Fan Appreciation Weekend with prizes given out all weekend, and a jersey auction on Saturday, the season’s final home game.
“The unwavering support of our fans this season is a testament to the heart and spirit of this community,” Mead said. “We couldn’t be more grateful for the energy, passion and enthusiasm they brought to Cool Insuring Arena. Truly the best fans in the entire ECHL.”