A hat-trick by Canadian defenceman Kyle Mariani has helped the CBR Brave hold off a competitive Sydney Ice Dogs team 6-4 at the Philip Ice skating Centre in Canberra on Saturday night. 

Both teams made frequent trips to the penalty box with four game misconduct penalties and a match penalty totalling 161 minutes for the game with eight of the 10 goals coming on power play opportunities.

In the early stages of the game, the Ice Dogs were able to contain the home team but midway through the period Kelly Geoffrey broke the deadlock with a power play goal, with all six of the Brave’s goals coming on the power play. 

But before Brave fans could to take their seats, the Ice Dogs’ Strat Allen scored 24 seconds later.

The Sydney Ice Dogs defended well throughout the rest of the period with Grogan facing 15 shots to just 4 from the Dogs. 

But Stephen Blunden snuck one through with one second left in the period to take a 2-1 lead into the second.

The second period had it all - goals, fights and penalties. 

After an early major penalty, the Brave made the most of the five minute penalty with Kyle Mariani claiming his hat-trick in that time to give his side a 5-1 lead midway through the period.

Although the Ice Dogs’ Scott Clemie pulled one goal back, it wasn’t long before tempers flared, with three Brave players and an Ice Dogs player were given early shower for their efforts.

However, there were no additions to the score, with the Brave leading 5-2 at the final break.

An understaffed Brave took to the ice in the third, and the Ice Dogs took advantage, getting back within one-goal, with Allen and Clemie scoring their second respective goals for the match and making the score 5-4. 

But the Brave were able to compete for possession as simple successive penalties against the Dogs gave the home side some more opportunities.

“We didn’t do well in the PK, we didn’t do any favours by standing in our box, and it’s something that we’ve struggled with in the last couple of weeks,” Ice Dogs coach Mario Passarelli said. “Sometimes it seems like it’s not going our way in that department but we can only do what we can control and it’s just going to come down to discipline.”

Kelly Geoffrey made it 6-4 with his second goal, and finished the night with night assists, eliminated any chance of an Ice Dog comeback as the Brave sealed their first win in two weeks.

CBR Brave coach Brad Hunt was happy to get the win and was pleased with the offensive output.

“It’s nice to get a win, you know, we got a lot of shots tonight,” Hunt said. “We got some goals which is nice. We got more than five goals which is awesome – first time in a long time.”

However, Hunt said there were still things to work on after the penalty filled second period left the team shorthanded.

“We let them back in, but we had a bit of a rough end of the second period there, which was unfortunate,” Hunt said. “We lost our captain and we lost pretty much two-thirds of our third line which is a bit of a killer but that’s alright. The boys double shifted and worked hard and kept them contained and we let in a couple of goals but that happens.”

For the Ice Dogs, Passarelli said the slow start was what cost the Ice Dogs in the end.

“It was pretty simple, we didn’t come ready to play,” Passarelli said. “And it started in the first period. We had chances late in the game in the third, and I feel as if we started like we finished it, it would have been a different story.”

The Ice Dogs take on the Bears next Saturday in Penrith, while the Brave have a double header against the Melbourne Mustangs in Melbourne.