By Paul Post
Section H, Row 10, Seat 2.
That’s where Tadd Sipowicz was sitting with teenage buddies the last time an Adirondack pro hockey team, the Red Wings, won a league championship.
“It’s been a long time, we’re due,” the 49-year-old Hudson Falls High School graduate said. “The expectation is to win. That’s the goal.”
He’s doing everything possible to help players, coaches and front-office staff make such dreams become reality as Adirondack Thunder team president and Harding Mazzotti Arena president and general manager.
Sipowicz took over on an interim basis following the surprise departure of Jeff Mead from those positions, only weeks before training camp opens on Oct. 3.
Sipowicz, who’s been with the team 11 years, also will continue in his role as chief revenue officer.
He said he anticipates continued strong fan and business community support, despite Mead’s somewhat puzzling exodus.
The Adirondack Civic Center Coalition, which manages the city-owned arena, issued a brief statement saying Mead “is no longer employed,” without further explanation. He was named ECHL Executive of the Year in 2024 and in November was named chairman of the league’s Board of Governors.
“I’m not going to speculate on why it happened,” Sipowicz said. “It was a (Coalition) board decision. From the feedback on my end from corporate partners, I think people believe it’s in good hands. So far it’s been tremendous support.”
“Season tickets are ahead of last year and we’re trending higher in sponsorships, too,” he said. “Everything is up.”
The Thunder set a new franchise record with 20 sellout crowds last year and averaged 4,539 fans per game, the highest average attendance in team history. They finished third in the ECHL’s North Division to reach the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round.
Coach Sylvain Cloutier has signed bigger, heavier defensemen such as the 6-foot-7 Steve MacLean and 6-foot-3 Brendan Dowler, adding more physicality to a lineup that already has Daniel Amesbury, the league’s toughest enforcer.
All-Star Brennan McManus (31 goals, 36 assists) will lead an offense that includes the surprise return of veteran Shane Harper, 37, a highly popular fan favorite who’s coming out of retirement. “Bringing a player of Shane’s caliber back into our room is a massive lift for our group,” Cloutier said. “Even after some time away from the game, his leadership, hockey intelligence, and veteran presence remain unmatched. Shane knows what it takes to compete and win at this level, and we’re excited to have that experience back in our locker room.”
Sipowicz said he’s extremely grateful for a solid front-office staff that’s had very little turnover in recent years, quite unusual at the minor league level in any professional sport.
“We’ve built a great culture over the past few years,” he said. “A lot of people talk about family, this truly is. We’re a close-knit group. I told the rest of the staff, I may have gotten this title, but we’re doing this all together.”
“We all know our roles, what we’re good at, what our strengths are, what our weaknesses are,” he said. “We’re fortunate that we all pick each other up across the board.”
Adirondack is the smallest market in the 30-team league, which stretches from Portland, Maine to Lake Tahoe, California. The Thunder compete in the eight-team North Division, which has a new franchise, the Trenton Ironhawks, for the upcoming season.
In 2024, Adirondack captured North Division and Eastern Conference regular-season titles, but was eliminated from playoff action by the powerhouse Florida Everblades, which has won four of the last five Kelly Cup championships.
The Everblades are owned by billionaire David Hoffman, who also owns the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. All ECHL teams must adhere to a salary cap, but Hoffman attracts top players by offering perks such as individual apartments and more frequent air travel, which many teams can’t afford.
Florida also has no state income tax and a warm, sunny climate.
But Thunder players enjoy the Glens Falls community’s hometown atmosphere, which is especially important to rookies, out on their own as first-year pros. The Thunder pay for player housing and try to make accommodations as comfortable as possible.
Players often comment about being recognized by well-wishers when they’re around town, which certainly doesn’t happen in the league’s biggest cities.
Sipowicz brings considerable business experience to his new jobs, having owned a kitchen cabinet design business that he sold to “go all in on hockey.”
He joined the Thunder in 2016 and was previously director of business development.
He also owned the Junior Thunder, a developmental team for older teens, which played three years in Glens Falls, before devoting his full attention to the ECHL Thunder.
“I love it, this is my passion,” Sipowicz said. “That’s the great thing; our whole staff is passionate about this. We all watch the road games. At some teams, it’s just a job. With our staff, we get together and watch the games. Everybody cares.”
The Thunder’s first preseason contest is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, in Glens Falls against the Trois-Rivieres Lions. The regular season home opener is Saturday, Oct. 17, against Trenton.
Only three midweek games are on the schedule and two of those are on Thanksgiving Eve and New Year’s Eve. Every other home game is on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, which should boost attendance considerably.
Numerous promotions are planned, including a new Patriot Night in February, when players will wear Revolutionary War-themed jerseys, joined by reenactors in the stands. And a three-game Rivalry Series with Trois-Rivieres will feature special U.S.- and Canada-themed jerseys.
“The overarching thing that keeps coming up is we want to win,” he said. “I think we’ve got the opportunity to do something special here this season.”