Championship Guide: The Adelaide Xtreme

The NHSL Finals are upon us. The Adelaide Xtreme and the Port Adelaide Brewers are the last two teams standing and ready to compete in a best-of-five series to determine the inaugural NHSL Champion.

The winning team also takes home a $25,000 cheque.  There's a lot on the line and it's some of the highest stakes these Australian players will have competed in.

If you're just joining us, welcome. Here is a refresher of Australia's first professional ice hockey league.

Or maybe you're here to get prepped for a big series that starts Friday 25 February at the Ice ArenA. Either way, let's have fun.

Tickets are nearly sold out. Get them at www.bit.ly/NHSLTickets. All games will be broadcast live on SBS On-Demand each Friday at 7:00PM. The game replay will be shown on Free-To-Air TV on NITV at 2:00PM the Saturday immediately following the game. 

Today we'll break down the Adelaide Xtreme. 

Adelaide Xtreme
General Manager: Tash Farrier
Coach: Eric Lien
Captain: Joey MacDougall
Team Sponsor: PEAQ Conditioning

Season Record: 5-3-0, 10 points (1^st) 
Goals for: 40 (2^nd)
Goals against: 36 (1^st) 

Power Play %: 12-58 (20.6%)
Penalty Kill %: 47-51 (92.5%)

Biggest win: 2 goals (on four occasions)
Biggest loss: 3 goals (6-3 Brewers on February 18)

Season Results

Game 1 – Xtreme 5 def Brewers 3 (Record: 1-0, first place)
Game 2 – Xtreme 6 def Stars 4 (Record: 2-0, first place)
Game 3 – Brewers 7 def Xtreme 6 (Record: 2-1, first place) 
Game 4 – Xtreme 4 def Stars 3  (Record: 3-1, first place) 
Game 5 – Xtreme 7 def Brewers 5  (Record: 4-1, first place) 
Game 6 – Stars 5 def Xtreme 4  (Record: 4-2, first place) 
Game 7 – Xtreme 5 def Stars 3  (Record: 5-2, first place) 
Game 8 – Brewers 6 def Xtreme 3  (Record: 5-3, first place) 

Season Story

The Adelaide Xtreme came out guns-a-blazing and were wire-to-wire leaders of the season.

Early wins over the Stars and the Brewers gave them an edge and while they split results vs each team before Christmas, the Xtreme had a 3-1 record at the break and were in first place.

No team past them from that point. In fact they clinched a finals spot with two games to go and the minor premiership after their seventh game thanks to owning all the tie-breakers vs the Brewers.

The crazy thing is that we haven’t seen an Xtreme side remotely close to full strength in 2022. Every game the Xtreme have been mired by COVID close contacts, injuries or both. 

The combination of David Huxley and Graham Charbonneau hasn’t been available yet in 2022. Starting goalie Jeremy Friederich missed a game and there’s been times when an entire forward line has missed out. 

It makes the versatility of the Xtreme all the more impressive. Players like Jared Siemens have played both forward and defense, captain Joey MacDougall has played up-and-down the line-up, the penalty kill has seen different looks, and the team still won a minor premiership.

Key Strengths 

Special Teams – The Xtreme have executed the man advantage better than anyone in the NHSL. They’ve had a power play goal in every game since Christmas. They operate at just over a 20% clip and seem to be the only team that can sustain constant pressure with the extra man.  

Face-off and Control – The Xtreme won just over 60% of their face-offs in their season. They were dominant. If you win the draws you start a sequence with puck possession and can inflict control over an opponent. It’s a simple formula. The Xtreme when rolling also establish as good as a forecheck and offensive zone presence as anyone else. They can roll three or four lines confidently. 

Versatility – They drafted seven centres and it’s paying dividends. Guys are able to move up and down the line up at ease, pop on the wing, move from forward and defense. That’s allowed Head Coach Eric Lien to have some freedom with his line-up, given him the ability to line match and truly implement a “next man up” approach. 

Goaltending

Their goaltender is Jeremy Friederich – a 19-year-old South Australian sensation who has won back-to-back local titles with the Adelaide Jokers. The Xtreme will look to rely on Jeremy’s clutch playoff performances in years past to carry them through to a championship.

Jeremy will need to be good from the get-go and the Xtreme’s best player on the ice to give them the best chance.

Biggest X-Factor

Team Australia defenseman Jamie Woodman is regarded as one of the best – if not the best – blue liners in Australian hockey. He played the first game of the season as a FIFO player from Western Australia before the borders were slammed shut.

If he plays in this series look out. He’s incredibly gifted and fun to watch.

Dean Peterson is a sneaky little X-Factor too. The veteran player returned to the ice after about five years away and has made a huge impact. He wins face-offs, goes to work and grinds in the corner and has even potted a few goals.

Point Leaders and Production

The Xtreme rely heavily on their top line to pick up some goals. Nathaniel Benson and Xander Wardlaw have played together all season and finished 1-2 in NHSL points. Recently captain Joey MacDougall has joined the top line. It puts a combined 46 points on the top line – the heaviest combination in the league. 

However, there is a bit of a drop-off after the top three forwards in production. Noah Maley hasn’t registered a point in his last two games, Olivier Martin hasn’t scored in 2022 after scoring in each of his first four games, and Adrian Esposito has just one point in his last four games.

The Xtreme will need more than their top line to produce consistent goals.