A four-goal third period has snapped the Perth Thunder out of a two-game skid, coming back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Adelaide Adrenaline 6-3 on Sunday at Perth Ice Arena.
Powered by a four-point performance (two goals, two assists) from Michael Dorr, as well as three points each to Jessyko Bernard and Rob Haselhurst, the Thunder rebounded from the 3-1 loss the day before with a win that solidifies their spot in the top two.
Thunder head coach Dave Kenway expressed his pleasure at the form of Dorr, who he said is building his reputation among the team and around the league.
“Michael is hitting his stride, it’s great to see when your imports start finding their feet,” Kenway said. “They’re great guys (the imports) and they’re fitting in with the group so it’s great to see Dorr putting the puck in the net.”
In a spiteful game riddled with penalties for both sides, it was the Thunder’s special teams that proved the difference, scoring two power play goals while going a perfect 0-for-4 on the penalty kill, a fact that pleased Kenway.
“They converted a few which was good, and they were very dominant which is what we want,” Kenway said. “You always want to work on them (special teams) and make them productive and keep possession.”
Goaltenders Thomas Heemskerk and Peter King were kept busy throughout the night, with Heemskerk stopping 38 of 41 shots while King blocked 42 of 47 shots while he was in net, including a remarkable 23 in the third period.
The Thunder opened the scoring in the game for the second day running, with David Kudla and 100-gamer Jonathon Bremner assisting Andrew Cox’s power play goal with a little over two minutes remaining in the first period.
The Thunder carried the lead into the first intermission, but the Adrenaline assumed the lead within the first two minutes of the second after a pair of Darren Corstens goals, first finishing a great play on the rush from Wehebe Darge, before forcing a neutral zone turnover to score on a breakaway and take a 2-1 lead.
The Thunder killed two consecutive penalties before Michael Dorr leveled the scores, slapping a puck through Peter King to tie the scores with six minutes remaining in the second period.
King had a moment to forget early in the third period, failing to control a soft dump-in from centre after the opening faceoff, only to see Michael Dorr pounce on the rebound for his second of the game and a 3-2 lead.
Rob Haselhurst then scored to take the score to 4-2, with his long-range one-timer on the power play finding it’s way through traffic and into the back of the net, before a great goal on the rush from Wehebe Darge brought the score back to 4-3.
Ben Breault then gave the Thunder a two-goal cushion with a great snipe from the left wing, after Peter King made an incredible save on Rob Haselhurst, before Jessyko Bernard found the empty net from his own zone to hand the Thunder a 6-3 win.
Dave Kenway said post-game that he was happy with the response of his playing group after Saturday’s loss.
“I basically said to the boys that we have to fire up now, address these issues and fix them to move forward,” Kenway said. “The boys stepped up and did what they needed to do.”
The Thunder now face another week off before travelling to Melbourne to take on the Mustangs on July 2-3, and the coach warned his second-placed playing group against complacency.
“We just have to keep on the boys and keep training, we can’t let them get too lax,” Kenway said. “We have to keep the pace and intensity and hunger alive before we go away to Melbourne.”
The Adrenaline, who have now lost seven of their past eight games, remain in seventh on AIHL standings with two games in hand, and return home after a bye to take on top-placed Melbourne Ice on July 2-3.
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