Ice sweep Adrenaline in double header

---

The Melbourne Ice defeated Adelaide Adrenaline 3-1 at the Medibank Icehouse on Sunday afternoon, sweeping the double header in Melbourne.
 
The home side had three individual scorers through Jeff Smith, Mitch Humphries and captain Lliam Webster, while it was Adrenaline captain Greg Oddy with the lone goal for the visitors.
 
The game was heated, contested and fast, yet marred by a tumultuous final period that went for a staggering 45 minutes due to penalties and mishaps.
 
Melbourne Ice head coach Brent Laver was more than pleased with his squad after taking the six points over the weekend and briefly touched on his side’s ability to work past issues on the ice.
 
"Absolutely stoked with the discipline, the energy, the passion, the bench when under fire - we saw all the right things from the leaders right through to the younger guys," Laver said. "These younger guys want to be the next Lliam Webster or Tommy Powell, and it's fantastic to see. They know what they have to do to succeed: first comes opportunity; second comes consistency. If they can build that consistency into their play then they're well on their way."
 
Fans at the Medibank Icehouse expected Adrenaline to come out all guns blazing after a lacklustre effort the previous day, and while there were definitely glimpses of this, there was little consistency.
 
The opening period saw an early goal to Ice import defender Jeff Smith, who scored two minutes in with a goal from the crease through traffic. The visiting Adrenaline failed to capitalise on any of their three power play opportunities in the first period thanks to an impressive defensive effort from the home side, being on the penalty kill for six minutes without breaking.

While Adelaide goalie Mike Will was poised to show his skills between the pipes again, he needed more help from his defenders. On the other end of the ice was Jayden Pine-Murphy who performed well over the weekend and praised his teammates for their efforts.

"It's probably the best I've seen the boys play all season, they keep the pucks out wide for me and they let me see everything coming towards me," Pine-Murphy said. “The defence by the boys was brilliant tonight.”
 
After the first break it was clear that Melbourne wanted to leave everything out on the ice. Ice youngster Mitch Humphries can almost personify this. He's played a great weekend of hockey, scoring two goals for his team.

The second period was Adelaide's turn to hold the momentum, with Adrenaline captain Greg Oddy getting his side on the scoresheet thanks to an astonishing power play goal with four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the second period, threading the needle past Ice goalie Jayden Pine-Murphy much to the disbelief of Ice fans in the house.
 
Entering the final period with the scores tied 1-1, both teams knew they had to lift. Adelaide was notably more aggressive around the puck, and desperately tried to salvage their road trip through fast skating and heavy hits. But through the 18 penalties that were called throughout the final period, it was difficult for both sides to build momentum.
 
It took Ice Captain Lliam Webster to step up first and will his side over the line by driving on Will and putting the puck straight through the five-hole while sliding on his back for a power play goal at the 16:50 mark.
 
Next was Mitch Humphries who nailed a fantastic shot from the slot that hit the post and went in off Will’s skate, putting his side up 3-1 with 13 minutes remaining in the game. Humphries was fed by Jeremy Brown and Austin McKenzie – with the three younger Ice players playing exceptional hockey over the weekend.
 
Despite the scoreline, the Adrenaline played strongly in the final period, although the penalties let the Adrenaline down with all three goals against coming on the power play.
 
The third period might not have been pretty, but teams will be tested week after week. Melbourne Ice assistant coach Johan Steenberg commented on this in the all-important lead up to the 2014 AIHL Finals.
 
"It doesn't always have to be pretty. It doesn't matter how you score the goals, as long as you score them. We needed the six points, and we're going to leave everything out on the ice – and that’s what we did tonight”.
 
Next week, the Adrenaline returns home for the final time this season, playing the Brave in a pair of must-win games. Meanwhile the Ice takes on the Mustangs in the final Melbourne Derby on Thursday night before playing the North Stars on Sunday.