Adrenaline fight back to down Ice Dogs

A third period fight back has seen the Adelaide Adrenaline come from behind win over the Sydney Ice Dogs 3-2 at the Adelaide Ice Arena on Saturday night.

Although it was the Ice Dogs’ eighth straight loss to start the season, it was the closest the team has gone to claiming a win, leading for the first two periods.

For the Adrenaline, the key was the first ten minutes of the third period. Goals to Jonathan Boxill, a power play goal to Greg Oddy and a shorthanded goal for Tyler Grove sealed the win.

Adelaide coach Ryan O’Handley said the team improved in the third and were able to get more pucks in deep.

“We didn’t skate as well as we can in the first two periods and the Ice Dogs are getting better every week so you’ve got to kick it into a higher gear,” he said.

Ice Dogs head coach, Anders Jespersen said they played two really good periods but lost the game at the start of the final period.

“We played two really good periods and pretty much lost the game in the first six minutes of the third period,” Jespersen said. “It’s tough when you’re the team with no points and always losing.”

The opening frame was a fiery encounter with Adelaide's Wehebe Darge and the Ice Dogs' Shannon McGregor turning the centre faceoff circle into a boxing ring only three minutes into the game.

After brawling it out both were banished to the locker rooms for the rest of the clash with game misconducts.

“We were disappointed to lose Darge, but look, they dropped the gloves, and that’s the rule. You’re going to be tossed,” O’Handley said.

The home team started well with Canadian speedster Tyler Grove producing golden chances, but unable to convert.

When Adelaide goalie Peter King was assessed a delay of game penalty the momentum began to swing in favour of the Ice Dogs.

With seven seconds left of the Ice Dogs' power play a shot from Kevin Harvey rebounded off King's pad.

The puck fell at the stick of Strat Allen who flicked it into the empty net, giving the Ice Dogs the lead for the first time this season.

The Adrenaline took control late in the period. However Sydney thwarted the home side and held the advantage going into the break on the back of a strong performance from goaltender Matthew Grogan.

The visitors silenced the crowd early in the second frame, with Ice Dogs captain Brian Funes scoring after another King rebound, giving the visitors a two-goal advantage.

Adelaide's afternoon went from bad to worse with King being replaced by Charlie Smart, after suffering a lower body injury diving for a loose puck.

O’Handley said, King would be out for at least a few weeks with a suspected hamstring tear.

“We think King has a torn hamstring so we’ll have it assessed,” he said. “It’s starting to swell up, and he’s got an icebag on it so we’re probably going to be without him for probably two weeks.”

Ice Dogs goalie Matthew Grogan was solid in net when Adelaide went on the power play late in the period, stopping a barrage of shots from the Adrenaline.

The final period was a different story from the outset with Boxill opening the scoring for Adelaide with a wrist shot from the slot to bring the Adrenaline within one.

Adelaide’s Graham Charbonneau thought they ended the second period well, and came out and played the same way in the third.

“We had to start moving our feet. We got the power play near the end of the second and from there we started working,” he said. “We knew we had to come out and play the same way.”

The Adrenaline looked like a different team from the first two periods and only minutes later Adelaide captain, Greg Oddy, came down the wing and scored on the low stick-side, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

The game-winning goal came when a long pass from Boxill gave Grove a breakaway, which he converted through the five-hole.

Jespersen said he was disappointed by the result after the performance the team had put in.

“I was a little disappointed with the first two goals he [Grogan] let in. It was two goals he should stop,” he said. “The third goal was good, and hard for him to stop. If our goalie stopped these two shots, it’s a completely different game."

Both teams are in action again next week with the Ice Dogs taking on the Brave in Canberra on Saturday and the Adrenaline in Perth for a double header against the Thunder.