Australia claim dominant win over Vic All-Stars in warm-up for Serbia

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The World Championships now await the Mighty Roos as they head to Serbia on a high note, after convincingly defeating the Victorian AIHL All-Stars 8-2 in Tuesday night’s practice match.

Australia were dialed in from puck drop, getting to pucks quicker than their opponents and laying the heavier hits in the puck battles. As a result, they were able to maintain extended periods of puck possession, recording eight of the first ten shots on goal.
However, it was the Victorian AIHL All-Stars who would score first, handing Australia a small reality check five minutes into the contest.

That was all the Mighty Roos needed to truly get firing though, allowing just one more shot on goal for the remainder of the first third while piling seven more shots of their own on net. Their prolific shot rate would be rewarded, two of those seven shots finding the back of the goal, the first being a crisp wrist shot unleashed by Newcastle Northstar Casey Kubara from the slot, tying the game.

The second occurred from a similar spot, a sick dime through the All-Stars defence leading to another grade-A chance from the slot, as the work rate of the Mighty Roos on the puck cycle paid off in a big way.

The second period continued as the first ended, Australia outshooting the All-Stars 20-7 in the frame. The most intriguing takeaway from this part of the game was the best pre-tournament look at Australia’s powerplay, a high-sticking penalty on the All-Stars sending the Mighty Roos to the man advantage just moments into the period.



Northstars' defenceman Hawes looked electric as the primary defenceman on the first unit. His tight control of the puck along the blue line and then agility to get deep into the offensive zone to force a puck cycle was impressive, the All-Stars box penalty kill formation thrown out of shape by it. Tommy Stevens was dangerous lurking in the bumper role, deflecting a couple inward passes on net and screening well in front.

Australia would capitalise with the second unit, however, and it was clear the moment the group skated onto the ice who the target shooter was; Canberra Brave captain Kai Miettinen. Miettinen sat in Ovechkin’s office waiting to pounce with a one-time slapper for most of the shift, getting an immediate look in that part of the ice after a successful face-off. However, he would eventually score off of a rebound from the slot, timing his skate to the net front to perfection to capture the Mighty Roos third goal for the game.

While chemistry amongst the team will build as the tournament progresses, Australia’s ability to constantly maintain puck possession and clear their defensive zone without many giveaways demonstrates positive signs that the national team is already gelling. This was incapsulated brilliantly on their fourth goal for the game, with a gorgeous feed from Casey Kubara finding Central Coast Rhino Bert Malloy flying down the slot for an unstoppable shot.

Following this, however, the All-Stars would ramp up the pressure, finally garnering some extended puck possession to test the Australian defensive unit legitimately. Unfortunately for the Mighty Roos, they were able to break through after a rally of four shots on goal, making it a 4-2 game.

Australian head coach Matti Luoma must have sparked something in his group as the referees reset the puck though, as five seconds later the lead would increase back to three, Australia forcing a turnover in their offensive zone which led to a two-on-one rush and score, a goalie’s nightmare.



Despite the game’s margin increasingly getting out of hand, Australia never relented, a sign of determination heading into Serbia. The Mighty Roos piled on three more goals in the third period, including a beauty from Perth Thunder's Maxim Lyashenko going top shelf, while conceding just five shots over the last 20 minutes.

While Australia only gave up a handful of dangerous opportunities to the Victorian All-Stars, goaltender Aleksi Toivonen was strong in net, making a highlight-reel windmill save to rob the All-Stars’ shot at the net front during the first period. Despite conceding two goals on 15 shots, neither were soft goals, so there certainly should be belief he can back up his recent high-level play at the international level in Serbia.

Ultimately, Australia stamped their authority on this game from the onset and will surely have left fans excited for the rapidly approaching tournament.

The IIHF Men’s World Championships Division 2A tournament begins for Australia on 30 April at 3:30am AEST, taking on hosts Serbia in what promises to be a tight matchup.