Not so pointless

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When the Melbourne Mustangs met the Melbourne Ice last Thursday, May 17, it was a case of another disappointing loss.
 
The Mustangs went down 5 - 1 in what could be called their worst performance of the season so far.
 
From the first minute to the last, the Ice looked a class above the young Mustangs team, the Ice controlling the game with ease.
 
Mustangs import Jake Ebner was one of the few shining lights in the Thursday game, along with Captain and solitary goal scorer for the Mustangs, Shane Hardy.
 
Still, Ebner was not shying away from the reality of the loss.
 
"The Ice have a good team but we know we can play with them,” he said.
 
“It was not our best game and against a team like the Ice you need your best effort."
 
A 0-4 start was definitely not what Ebner or the Mustangs were hoping for or expecting, but Ebner was adamant that the team has to move on.
 
The Mustangs finally managed to scrape together a scrappy, but nonetheless well-deserved win against the Gold Coast Blue Tongues on Saturday.
 
The Mustangs took the game to a shootout – the team’s third shootout game this season – winning 5-4.
 
It almost seemed like a different Mustangs outfit that lined up against the Gold Coast only a couple of days after their thumping at the hands of the Ice.
 
The Mustangs played with more confidence and passion than they had on Thursday.
 
Hardy, who has been one of only a few solid Mustangs performers throughout the season, was quick to give kudos where it was due.
 
"The key to our win was that each line came to play," said Hardy.
 
"We ran three lines all night and each line did their job shutting down the other team and contributing with goals.
 
“This is going to be the key in the future.
 
“We can't just rely on one line each game.
 
“Everybody has to turn up to play."
 
Although happy to finally get the first win out of the way, Hardy did mention however that there was a definite feeling of frustration within the playing group after letting a solid lead slide in the third.
 
"We let the three points go at the end of the game," said Hardy.
 
"Going into the game, we wanted to just try and put three periods together because we are always confident we can beat each team.
 
“But when we seem to fall asleep for a period of time we end up letting the otter team right back in the game or worse."
 
There would have been many nervous Mustangs supporters watching from the stands as their winless team was sent into a shootout for the third time this season.
 
But Hardy himself was not nervous.
 
"I think I was just too busy being upset that we had blown the win we deserved once again," he said.
 
"Scoring wasn't our problem that night so I had confidence in the shootout.
 
“Not to mention young Fraser [Carson] had a great game and seemed to love penalty shots."
 
So now the Mustangs can look on with confidence to this weekend’s double-header against the Perth Thunder in Perth.
 
And they can be quietly optimistic that they can get their revenge on the newest club in the league and register back-to-back wins.