Heritage win for Adelaide

It was a case of déjà vu for some AIHL fans on Saturday, with the Adelaide Avalanche – yes, that’s right – taking the ice for their first ever Heritage round and defeating the Perth Thunder 4-3.

For the first time in almost a decade, Adelaide Avalanche colours were worn by Adelaide players in homage to their South Australian roots and the chance to raise funds for Camp Quality.

Adelaide Adrenaline don the colours and logo of founding team the Adelaide Avalanche in a Heritage round. Photo: Katrina Chenoweth. 

The Heritage Round in Adelaide raised funds for Camp Quality. Photo: Frank Kutsche.

With former coach John Botterill back behind the bench alongside current Head Coach Sami Mantere, Adelaide was looking to put on a show for their capacity crowd and the Alumni Avalanche players in attendance – players who won the first AIHL National Championship all the way back in 2000.

Alumni Coach John Botteril back behind the bench with Sami Mantere for the game. Photo: Frank Kutsche. 

Joey Rezek got his team on the board early scoring on a wide open net with the Thunder’s goalie standing no chance of saving it just 50 seconds in. Rezek’s line scored again minutes later as Cameron Critchlow put a backhand shot at close range passed Peter DiSalvo, and the Avalanche up 2-0.

At the other end of the ice, Matt Murphy was doing a stellar job in the crease, twice robbing Thunder’s scoring machine Ben Breault, before Jessyko Bernard set him up with a flawless cross ice pass for the tap in.

The second period saw the Adelaide advance with two more goals as Critchlow and Rezek combined yet again to pick apart the Perth defense, and push the score to 3-1.

Rezek celebrates his goal from the sweet pass by Critchlow and Kratosy. Photo: Frank Kutsche.

A rebound from David Huxley's shot marked Critchlow's fourth point of the night, rifling the puck past Di Salvo on the power play.

However, less than five seconds later when Jessyko Bernard scored off a perfect play from the face-off circle, Perth tightened the margin to 4-2 going into the second intermission.

Bernard would go on to score again on a power play in the final frame with 14 minutes left on the clock: putting the Thunder back in a position to tie the game. Despite a few power play opportunities late in the third, Perth wasn’t able to convert and the Adelaide Avalanche took their first win in a decade.

It was a golden note at the end of a long season for the Adrenaline with their team all but eliminated from Finals contention. While Perth Thunder, currently sitting second on the AIHL ladder and looking to forward to September’s shot at winning the Goodall Cup, will want to bounce back from this loss – their first in regulation since June.

Alumni Coach John Botterill felt the pride the Adrenaline players showed for their Avalanche predecessors played its part on the night.

“The boys were committed,” said Botterill.

“They were there for the logo on the front, and for the hundred guys that have played for that logo. Like I said to the boys, it has a lot of blood, sweat and a few sets of teeth and broken bones.

"At this level you have to play hard and physically, mentally be ready to make that sacrifice for the rest of the guys. They did that today – and that’s the thing about ice hockey – you get wins and losses, so you got to enjoy the wins.”