Week 14 recap: Upsets galore as playoff race heats up

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Ice stunned by Brave, lose first game of 2025 in regulation

The Melbourne Ice suffered their first two losses in regulation of the season as Canberra dominated the league leaders in a weekend sweep at AIS Arena.

The Brave stunned the previously unbeaten Ice 5-2 on Saturday, a blistering second period from Jesperi Viikila setting up the win. The Brave would take 22 shots on net during the second frame, with Viikila’s goal and primary assist on each end of the three-goal period. He led the way for Canberra in this match setting up countless high-danger opportunities, ultimately finishing with four points – a season high.

The Brave’s penalty kill deserves plenty of credit for securing the upset win, however. Canberra relentlessly refuted almost every Ice man-advantage, despite conceding countless penalties throughout the match, including a 5-on-3 mid-way through the first period. These defensive efforts enabled the Brave to frustrate the Ice’s potent top line and channeled momentum into converting opportunities in their own offensive zone.

Alex Tetreault stood tall with a save percentage of .943. His recent string of form has played a major role in the Brave turning their season around, with Saturday being his fourth straight game with a save percentage of at least .939 and his fifth straight win as starting goaltender.

Sunday was an even more dominant effort from the Brave, with their offensive special teams doing much of the heavy lifting. The floodgates opened in yet another sensational second period, with Canberra netting three of their four powerplay goals of the match in this period. They’d net two more at even strength, taking a 6-2 stranglehold into the final intermission.

Three of those five second period goals came from Kale Costa, recording his first hattrick of the season in the 9-3 win. Thomas Steven also dominated with two goals and an assist, and Jacob Carey chipped in four points of his own (1 goal, 3 assists).

The second period drilling saw Tatsu Ishida get pulled for the first time this season, posting a season low .806 save percentage. While the Ice have all but secured the regular season title, they’ll be hoping he can regain his confidence quickly, as the Ice take on the Northstars on Sunday and will be hoping to avoid a third consecutive loss, while Newcastle will look achieve their fifth straight win.



Adrenaline playoff dreams remain alive in weekend series split with Mustangs

Adelaide’s season isn’t over yet as they’ve closed the gap between them and the sixth placed Mustangs to 14 points, while having three games in hand. Despite a playoff berth seeming increasingly unlikely, the Adrenaline’s 5-1 win on Saturday certainly boosted hopes that a miracle could still be at play.

The Adrenaline’s defence allowed them to build a solid 3-1 lead entering the final third, holding the Mustangs to just 16 shots on goal through 40 minutes of play. Frustration boiled over in the final period for Melbourne, taking four penalties, which Adelaide would convert on twice to seal the win. In fact, Adelaide’s puck dominance was so strong in this match, Melbourne managed just two shots on goal for the entire third period, giving them a season-low total of 18 shots on goals.

Sunday provided fans with one of the games of the season, a thrilling back-and-forth contest culminating in a final-seconds game winner. Adelaide went up 2-0 in their typical dominant opening periods before ill-discipline in the second frame saw them concede two powerplay goals within three minutes, with Dean Klomp asserting himself as one of the league’s top performers on the man-advantage.

The teams would exchange two more goals and looked destined to head to overtime with a puck drop in Melbourne’s offensive with 28 seconds remaining, locked at 3-3.

Melbourne would fight along the boards for possession after play resumed but would lose the battle, putting Adelaide in control with possession. However, a bad bounce off the boards on a clearing attempt saw the puck tumble into the slot uncontested. A poke check from Marcel McGuiness knocked the puck onto Brody Lindal’s stick, who ripped a toe drag release past goaltender Cale Dolan with 11 seconds left, his last-gasp heroics securing a clutch win and the full three points for Melbourne.

The win keeps the Mustangs in touching distance with the top four and almost ends Adelaide’s playoff hopes, though they remain mathematically a chance. Adelaide will now go north to play Brisbane, while the Mustangs will play the red-hot Northstars at the Icehouse on Saturday.



Thunder handed reality check by Northstars, bounce back vs Rhinos

Perth have shared the spoils with New South Wales’ northern clubs, losing to Newcastle 4-0 on Saturday before crushing Central Coast 10-1 on Sunday.

The Northstars suffocated Perth’s offense completely, holding them to just 25 shots and, of course, shutting them out. Their defence was well disciplined too, conceding just eight penalty minutes and two man-advantage opportunities to the Thunder. On one of those powerplays, Newcastle would end up scoring shorthanded via Riley Klugerman. Ultimately, Newcastle’s high volume of shots provided enough opportunity for them to secure a vital win and move into equal-fourth in the standings, with challenges of the Mustangs and Ice to come.

Perth found no challenge with the Rhinos at all on Sunday, however, with their scoring prowess too strong to deal with. Their defence also played a massive role in keeping the game on their terms, as while they only managed one goal on 13 shots in the first period, they held Central Coast to just five, never really letting them enter the game.

The floodgates opened up after 20 minutes, as a powerplay goal to Ben Breault kickstarted a four goal second period. Jordan Kyros and Kolby Johnson scored merely 30 seconds apart to open the final third and while Central Coast snared a late consolation goal, they simply had no answer for the depth of Perth’s top lines. Nine different skaters scored for Perth on Sunday, with Jordan Kyros being the only star to notch more than one. Yu Hikosaka regained the AIHL points leader crown with four points (1 goal, 3 assists) to take his season tally to 53, while Yannic Lodge, Robert Lachowicz and Jake Hamilton all added three points of their own.