Adelaide Adrenaline claimed game one of the weekend series against the Melbourne Ice, with a 4-2 win at the Medibank Icehouse on Saturday night.
 
Entering the weekend sitting third and fourth respectively, the Ice and Adrenaline went head-to-head for their first match up of the season.
 
Three unanswered third period goals helped the Adrenaline turn a 2-1 deficit into the 4-2 win.
 
Ryan O’Handley, Adelaide’s head coach credited the victory to the will of his team, specifically the performances of forward Tyler Grove and goalie Charlie Smart.
 
“Tyler Grove’s goal at the start of the third, that was the game changer,” O’Handley said. “We started to play better in the second. And then to tie it up as quickly as we did, that was huge. Charlie Smart- he was outstanding tonight. But it was a team effort.”
 
While Melbourne Ice performed well early in the first with a goal through traffic from alternate captain Tommy Powell, they struggled to maintain the pace.
 
“We were disappointed. Just that level of intensity right from the start,” Ice coach Brent Laver explained. “But we felt that it was a bit sluggish. It was an arm wrestle.”
 
A penalty heavy second period from both teams instantly shifted the momentum, giving Adelaide the upper hand.
 
A slip in the Ice defence provided Adrenaline import Jonathan Boxill with the time and space he needed to get his team’s first goal on the board with a low slot goal.
 
With the scores tied, the Ice weren’t giving up easily surprising the Adrenaline on the power play.
 
Ice forward Matt Armstrong managed a breakaway and despite Armstrong’s shot being saved by Smart, it was Powell again for the Ice getting his stick to the rebound, giving the Ice the 2-1 lead at the final break.
 
However it was all Adelaide after the second intermission.
 
Tyler Grove fired a rocket from the blue line on the power play early in the third to tie the game.
 
Wehebe Darge was next, picking up a loose hovering puck in front of Ice goaltender Jaden Pine-Murphy, who had the puck screened from view.
 
It was Tyler Grove for his second of the night that sealed the game for Adelaide, beating the Ice defencemen and winning the game 4-2.
 
The Ice pulled Pine-Murphy for the final minutes but were unable to convert.
 
With 28 shots on goal for the Adrenaline compared to the Ice’s 44, Ryan O’Handley said the performance gave his team great a feeling for the next game.
 
“The big thing is confidence.” O’Handley said with a smile. “To play somebody else, at their rink it’s good for our confidence and gives us that for tomorrow.”
 
Both teams faced each other again in the second game of the weekend Sunday afternoon.
 
For the Ice it would be a opportunity to come back and look for a win at home with hopefully an attitude change.
 
“It’s not a hockey thing,” Laver said. “I think it’s an attitude thing. It just the understanding that in this league, you can’t be five precent off.”