Week 13 Recap: Bears, Brave sweep Canada Day weekend

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Mustangs take third Melbourne derby

The Mustangs have kept their slim finals chances alive for another week with a pivotal 7-3 win over crosstown rivals the Melbourne Ice, in the third derby for season 2024 on Friday night.

A sold-out O'Brien Icehouse saw Austin Albrecht open the scoring for the Ice just 36 seconds from the drop of the puck, for a 1-0 lead. However, new addition Hayden Dawes responded in kind for the Mustangs on debut with a power play goal just 5 minutes later to tie the game. 

After pouring on 19 shots in the first period against Logan Flodell, the floodgates would open on the other side of the ice in the score column. The Mustangs scored six unanswered goals for the period to silence the Ice faithful, which began with Dawes' second of the game and ended with him completing the hat-trick and a 7-1 Mustangs' lead.

Rylan Freed also chipped in with two goals in a period which saw Joakim Erdugan ejected for checking to the head for the Ice.

The Ice managed to get a couple of consolation goals through Tobie Gilchrist and Jed Lake, both posting their first ever AIHL goals, but the orange and black ran away with the 3 points and a 7-3 win to stay within touch of the Perth Thunder.

Ex-Florida Panther Scott Timmins had a 5-point night, while Dawes' hat-trick was followed up with an assist. Ty Wishart also had 3 points for the Mustangs.


Rhinos go back-to-back over Brisbane, Adelaide

The Central Coast Rhinos have recorded their first back-to-back wins of the season, with wins over the Brisbane Lightning and Adelaide Adrenaline at Erina.

It was goal-for-goal in the first period between the two teams on Saturday, with a wild first period finishing 3-2 in favour of the hosts. Danick Bouchard’s pair of goals giving Central Coast the edge at the break.

The second was more of the same, as Mackenzie Bolger and Adrien Sebag extended the lead for the Rhinos, only to be broken up by Chance Adrian’s 4^th of the year for Brisbane. A 5-3 scoreline for Central Coast would hold at the second intermission.

The final period was an arm wrestle and despite two power play chances, the Lightning couldn’t get back in the game. Bolger made sure of the win with an empty-net goal in the final 11 seconds for a 6-3 W.

The Adrenaline came to Erina on Sunday looking to take 3 points from the team just below them in the Rurak Conference.

Captain Bert Malloy was the difference in the first period with his 7^th goal of the year, proving to be the only one for the period with shots finishing 8-7 in favour of the hosts.

The Rhinos extended their lead to 2-0 via Shai Rabinowitz only 5 minutes into the second, before an instant response from the Adrenaline’s Shaun Dosanjh 30 seconds later, for a 2-1 score line after 40 minutes. Adelaide had outshot Central Coast 17-15 until this point.

Saxon Air’s first goal for 2024 got the Rhinos off to the start they wanted early in the third and from there they held on. Bolger’s second of the weekend made it 4-1, and despite a late power play goal from Daniel Chen it would finish 4-2 for the Rhinos.

Oberoi made 24 stops from 26 shots in the win, while Rylan Toth went 24 from 28.

The pair of wins saw the Rhinos move to 16 points and on equal footing with the Adrenaline.

The Lightning host the Brave in a double header in Brisbane this weekend, while the Rhinos face the Bears at Macquarie on Saturday night.



Brave take full 6-points with wins over Northstars, Ice Dogs

The Canberra Brave have taken a full 6-point weekend, defeating rivals in the Northstars 7-3 and the Ice Dogs 6-3 in back-to-back games.

The two top teams in the Rurak Conference faced off on Saturday afternoon, with a goal fest in the first period.

Daniel Berno opened the scoring with a power play goal for his 17^th of the season, before both teams went goal-for-goal in a wild 8 minutes. Jackson Gallagher and all three Kubaras scored for the Brave while Ethan Hawes also tallied for the Northstars, for a 4-2 score at the first intermission.

The scoring dried up in the second aside from Tyler Kubara’s second goal of the game, for a 5-2 Brave lead after 40 minutes. The Brave piled on 33 shots to 19 through two periods.

Alex Yuill attempted to get Newcastle back into the game with 15:43 to play, clawing the visitors back to 5-3. It would be short-lived, as Casey and Bayley Kubara joined Tyler Kubara with two goals each for the 7-3 Brave victory. A scrappy third period also ended with Matt Harvey and Hamish Powell squaring off in a spirited bout in the final minutes of the game.

Casey Kubara also bagged his 100^th AIHL goal in the win.

The Brave rode the momentum into Sunday’s game with the Ice Dogs, getting a 2-1 jump on Sydney with scores to Kai Miettinen and Austin Cangelosi. Mike Dalhuisen the lone response for the Dogs before the break.

Kale Costa’s hot streak continued for Sydney as he tied the game 2-2 just 30 seconds from the restart, with both sides then exchanging goals for a 4-3 Brave lead after 40 minutes. 

The Brave ran away with the game 6-3 in the third period, outshooting Sydney 14-6 for the period with both Nick Christensen and Mitch Henning scoring, the latter scoring one of the goals of the season.

Canberra now have 28 points in second place in the Rurak Conference and travel to Brisbane for a double header with the Lightning on Sunday.



Bears dispatch Ice, just get by Mustangs

The league-leading Sydney Bears have put their rivals the Melbourne Ice to the sword in a wild game at the Icehouse on Saturday night.

The league’s two top teams traded goals in an offensive showdown in the annual Canada Day classic, led by debutante Carson Miller who was signed before the June 30 deadline. He didn’t disappoint on debut, with two goals and an assist on Adam Kadlec’s goal for a 3-2 Sydney lead after 20 minutes. Mac Caruana had two of his own in the first for the Ice, which ended with a wild altercation in front of the Sydney bench at the final buzzer. The Ice also lost defenceman Johnny Aonso for spearing in the first five minutes of the game.

The Ice then briefly took the lead thanks to Joey Hughes and Jed Lake, until the Bears stormed back in front ending the period 7-5 up, outshooting Melbourne 30 to 23.

Kadlec completed the hat-trick in the third period for a 9-6 rout of the Ice, who they will play one more time on August 11 before potentially meeting the AIHL finals.

The Mustangs put up much more of a fight against the league-leaders on Sunday.

Miller’s third goal of the weekend was the lone tally in the first period, for 1-0 after 20 minutes.

It would then jump out to 3-0 Sydney in the second period, with two goals in two minutes for the visitors. Noah Moncrieff had a deft tip for his 13^th of the season, before Chris Eaden notched a controversial goal off of his skate a minute later.

Vadim Virjassov clawed his team back into the game with a superb short-handed goal just moments later. However, outstanding goaltending at both ends by Logan Flodell and James Downie prevented the scoreline from climbing past 3-1 at the second intermission.

Rylan Freed continued his great run of form by pulling the Mustangs to within one but it would prove to be not enough, as the Bears hung on to sweep the weekend in Melbourne with a 3-2 win.

Downie, Kenta Matsukane and Logan Flodell (1^st) took out the three stars.

The Mustangs now sit in 4^th in the Hellyer Conference on 29 points and have a bye this weekend, with the Bears having a lone game against the Rhinos at home on Saturday.


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