Week Two Recap: Mustangs start title defence with win, Thunder sweep Brave

The AIHL is now well underway with all ten teams in action in week two, with import players still to arrive from northern hemisphere seasons and the Mighty Roos about to do battle in Serbia at the IIHF World Championships later this week.

Mustangs raise championship banner before win over Lightning

The Melbourne Mustangs raised their 2024 championship banner and then got their 2024 title defence off to a great start, with a defeat of the Brisbane Lightning at a sold-out O’Brien Icehouse on Sunday afternoon.

Former Tampa Bay Lightning 3^rd round pick Chris Lawrence had a hat-trick and Matt Knox grabbed his first two ever AIHL goals in a third period blitz, which saw the defending champions finish with 7-4 victory over the Lightning, who were coming off of a 5-2 defeat from the Melbourne Ice the previous evening. Anthony Barnes grabbed two goals for the Lightning in response, with Sam Hodic and former University of Manitoba defenceman Mitch Dyck also tallying.

Seb Woodlands made 11 saves in his first start for 2024, while Nick Novysedlak stopped 32 from 39 in the loss for the Lightning.

The Mustangs will host the red-hot Perth Thunder at home next Saturday, while Brisbane continue their road swing with a double header in the nation’s capital against the Canberra Brave.

Ice beat Brisbane to remain unbeaten

The Melbourne Ice only had one game this weekend and made the most of it, earning a 5-2 victory over the Brisbane Lightning in front of a packed O’Brien Icehouse on Saturday.

Melbourne jumped out to a two-goal lead early in the first period, thanks to a pair from Ellesse Carini. Joakim Erdugan, Lliam Webster and Josh Walt added a goal each in the second period to put the game beyond doubt, despite a scoreless third frame.

The Ice got 12 saves from Tatsuonshin Ishida, while Curtis Meger turned aside 33 of 38 shots in net for Brisbane. Patrick Popovics and Mitchell Dyck tallied for the visitors.

The Ice will play the Perth Thunder next Sunday afternoon, while the Lightning travel to Canberra for two road games against the Brave.


Adrenaline eclipse Bears to kick off season with a win

The Adelaide Adrenaline have started their 2024 AIHL season with a victory at home, with a 4-3 win over the Sydney Bears on Sunday.

Adelaide got goals from Yoavann Levesque, Jordan Freeman and a pair from former Swift Current Bronco Kaden Elder to down the Bears by one in their home opener. Former Adrenaline player Jake Riley answered for the Bears along with captain Ryan Annesley and Finnish import Samuli Vainionpaa but the Bears fell short after three periods of play.

Jeremy Friedrich stopped 31 of 34 shots he faced in the win, while Dane Brumm turned aside 31 of 35 at the other end for the Bears.

The Bears head back to Sydney this weekend to take on the Central Coast Rhinos, while the Adrenaline also hit the road to NSW for back-to-back games with the Sydney Ice Dogs and the Newcastle Northstars.
 
Thunder sweep Brave to move to equal first in Hellyer Conference

The Perth Thunder have continued their solid start to the 2024 AIHL season with a clean sweep of the Canberra Brave at home, despite both teams undermanned due to IIHF World Championship preparation.

Perth demolished last season’s runners-up on the Saturday night with a 7-2 victory, outshooting the Brave 45-29 in an offensive barrage on Brave goalie Alex Tetreault. Former Montreal Canadien draft pick-Jeremiah Addison continued his run of form with a hat-trick, while Ville Tenosalmi, Ben Breault, Yannic Lodge and Andrew Cox added goals of their own. Brave youngsters Charlie York and Jake Carey responded for Canberra.

The Thunder continued their onslaught on the Sunday afternoon in a closer affair but were ultimately too much for the Brave, outshooting them 42-28 and taking a 6-3 victory and six points on the weekend. Addison had a 3-point night for the Thunder while Zane Jones got two goals of his own, after passing the 100-point milestone last week.

Perth travel to Melbourne to take on the Mustangs and Ice at the Icehouse in a double header next weekend, while the Brave host the Brisbane Lightning in their first home games for the season.
 
Northstars demolish Rhinos, down Dogs to remain undefeated

The Newcastle Northstars have capped off another big weekend, demolishing the undermanned Central Coast Rhinos and defeating the Ice Dogs at home to take six points on the weekend.

Wehebe Darge scored a record 7 goals against Central Coast in a dominant display over the winless Rhinos at Erina Ice Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Northstars then hosted the Sydney Ice Dogs on the Sunday, prevailing 7-3 with a four-goal third period breaking the game decisively in favour of Newcastle.

Dmitri Kuleshov continued his hot streak with a pair of goals for Sydney, to take his season total to 4 in 3 games played for the year. Charlie Smart turned aside 21 of 24 shots in net for Newcastle, while Arvid Ljung made 39 saves on 46 shots for the Ice Dogs.

Newcastle host the Adelaide Adrenaline on Sunday while the Ice Dogs engage in Battle of Sydney #2 for the year against the Bears on Friday night, followed by the Adrenaline on Saturday.