AIHL Preview: Week Five

The fifth week of Australian Ice Hockey League action has rolled around, and with the top six teams all within three points of each other, every game is becoming vital in the standings.

Here is a brief look at Sunday's fixtures.

Adelaide Adrenaline (7th) @ Melbourne Mustangs (8th), 4pm O'Brien Group Arena
Season Series: Adrenaline 0-1-0-0 Mustangs 1-0-0-0
The Adelaide Adrenaline continue their second straight road trip with a return to O'Brien Group Arena to face the Melbourne Mustangs, one week after losing a 9-5 affair against the same opponent.
Adelaide will enter this contest in a far more confident mood after claiming a win over the Sydney Bears on Saturday evening. Goaltender Matt Murphy was stellar in his AIHL debut, making 45 saves as Cameron Critchlow scored late to force a shootout. The injection of Murphy seems to have given this team new life, and if his first game is anything to go by, the days of the Adrenaline giving up nine goals are behind them.
The Mustangs, conversely, will be a team almost devoid of confidence after being routed on home ice by bitter rival the Melbourne Ice 9-0 yesterday. However, the Mustangs will enter the game knowing they were able to put up nine goals last time these two teams met, and confident they can bounce back. Yesterday's results show they'll need a much better defensive effort to come away with three points in this one.

Players to Watch
Adrenaline: Greg Oddy
14-year veteran Oddy scored another goal yesterday to add to his impressive resume, which now boasts 597 AIHL points, and he'll see Sunday as a good chance to break the 600-point barrier. Age doesn't seem to be slowing the Adelaide Captain either, as he's scored five points already in eight games this season, and there's every chance the major milestone can be achieved this afternoon.

Mustangs: Matthew Beattie
The Mustangs have been leaky defensively this season, especially in their past two, conceding fourteen goals, and will need to be better on the back end to have any hope of beating a high-scoring Adrenaline team. As the import defenceman in the squad, a great deal of the burden lays with Beattie to lead the defensive effort by being responsible in his own end and leading clean breakouts. If Beattie is on his game, expect the Mustangs to be a lot better.

Perth Thunder (2nd) @ Sydney Bears (6th), 5pm Macquarie Ice Rink
Season Series: Thunder 0-0-1-2 Bears 0-0-2-1
The final of four meetings between these two sides gets out the way early in the season, and it's easy to see from the previous three meetings that these two are evenly matched, having all resulted in shootouts. This will undoubtedly be a battle of goaltenders, with arguably the two best in the league, Peter Di Salvo and Anthony Kimlin, doing battle.
The Thunder will be buoyed by a solid win over the Newcastle Northstars yesterday, scoring three third-period goals to overcome the defending champions away from home and lock themselves in to second spot. The import forwards seem to have immediately gelled, and they were responsible for all four goals yesterday, while Di Salvo's play in net has ensured he remains unbeaten in regulation in his AIHL career.
The Bear enter the game after being stunned yesterday by the Adelaide Adrenaline, but confident given their winning record over the Thunder this season. The Bears have been able to produce late goals in consecutive games to force shootouts against the Thunder, even erasing a two-goal deficit before recording a win last Saturday. The Bears also amassed 47 shots yesterday, so a similar offensive effort may be enough to see them to victory.

Players to Watch
Thunder: Rob Haselhurst
He may be one of the smallest defencemen in the league, but Haselhurst certainly packs a punch with both his skill and his physicality. "The Mo", as he is known, scored a beautiful end-to-end goal last Sunday against the Bears that would make any hockey highlight reel, and his speed on the rush will worry the Bears, as well as his physical play in his defensive zone.

Bears: Cameron Todd
Centring the top line for the Bears, Todd has been solid in his three appearances this season, tallying three points including an assist against the Adrenaline yesterday. The top line of the Bears has consistently given the Thunder trouble in the season series, and Todd will be a crucial part of any potential Bears win.

Sydney Ice Dogs (5th) @ Newcastle Northstars (4th), 5pm Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
Season Series: Ice Dogs 0-1-0-0 Northstars 1-0-0-0
The Northstars will look to get themselves back in the winners' circle after a disappointing loss at home to the Thunder yesterday, but will face a rejuvenated Ice Dogs outfit, who were inactive Saturday. The Northstars survived a late charge from the Ice Dogs to win 4-3 in the only match-up between these two teams this season so far, and this game promises to be just as tight.
The Ice Dogs had two promising performances last weekend, but will look to go one better against the Northstars this time around. The play of Damian Ketlo in net has certainly stiffened the resolve of the Dogs, but the addition of Rory Rawlyk has proven a master stroke, and the more time he is given to work with the Ice Dogs forwards and gain some chemistry, the more dangerous they become.
The Northstars are still stuck on two regulation wins from nine games this season, and that won't impress coach Andrew Petrie. The defending champions have had their chances in all of their fixtures this season, having suffered three one-goal losses in regulation as well as two more in the shootout, with yesterday's game their first loss by more than one goal. They'll hang in the game long enough to worry the Ice Dogs, and if they can take their chances, will be confident of bouncing back.

Players to Watch
Ice Dogs: David Upton
In his tenth AIHL season and with his fourth team, Upton has had a hot start to 2017. Having last played in 2013, Upton seems refreshed this season, with 11 points in five games, including 10 assists to lead the Ice Dogs in scoring. His career-high for points in a season is 30 with the Brisbane Blue Tongues back in 2006, and Upton is well and truly on track to eclipse that effort at his current rate.
 

Here's a look at Saturday's games.

Adelaide Adrenaline (7th) @ Sydney Bears (6th), 5pm Macquarie Ice Rink
Season Series: Yet to Play
The Adelaide Adrenaline return to Sydney for a second straight week hoping for better fortunes than the last time around, when they lost to the Ice Dogs 5-1. The Adrenaline started the season with a statement win at home over the Newcastle Northstars, but their season has flatlined since then, recording just one win in six games.

The Bears have proven tough to beat, and are returning home after two gutsy late comebacks in Perth against the Thunder resulted in two shootouts for one win and one loss. The Bears scored three goals in the final 90 seconds across those two games, and given those results, will have belief they can win from any position.

Players to Watch
Adrenaline: Matt Murphy
It’s an obvious statement that goaltenders are vital players in a hockey game, but given the number of goals Adelaide are conceding, this change in net could just be the spark they are searching for. The Adrenaline have conceded the most goals (36) in the league, and give up a greater number of shots than any other, so the introduction of Canadian netminder Murphy could be just the tonic to push Adelaide to victory.

Bears: Brian Funes
Charged quite frequently with shutting down the opposition’s top offensive line, Funes has been a stable influence on one of the league’s best defensive teams. The Bears have conceded just 2.50 goals per game, well down on the league average of 3.39, and while Anthony Kimlin helps, the Bears defence can certainly take large amounts of credit as well. If Funes can continue his physical style of play and break up offensive chances, the Bears will be in good shape to take three points.

Melbourne Mustangs (8th) @ Melbourne Ice (1^st), 5pm O’Brien Group Arena
Season Series: Mustangs 0-1-0-0 Ice 1-0-0-0
The billing of top vs bottom certainly doesn’t do this game justice. The Mustangs enter the second Melbourne Derby of the season with confidence, having registered a massive 9-5 win over the Adrenaline the day after a gritty 2-1 loss to the Ice. The Ice are yet to be beaten in season 2017, and the Mustangs came closer than anyone else has so far, so expect this to be hotly contested.

Players to Watch
Mustangs: Maxime Langelier-Parent
You may have to ask a friend how to pronounce his name, because Langelier-Parent has shown he certainly knows how to get involved in a hockey game. The Canadian tallied five points against the Adrenaline after putting up eight penalty minutes against the Ice to show he has scoring touch as well as being able to mix it up with his physical play. He leads the Mustangs in both points and PIMs, so will no doubt be a force in the Derby.

Ice: Tommy Powell
The Melbourne Ice offence has been burning brightly early in the season, and approaching his 300^th AIHL game, Powell has been a big part of that offence. In his 14^th AIHL season, Powell has kept up towards his career average with four points in four games, and will be hoping that form continues to help keep his team undefeated in season 2017.

Perth Thunder (3rd) @ Newcastle Northstars (4th), 5pm Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
Season Series: Thunder 1-0-0-0 Northstars 0-1-0-0
With both of these teams just one point away from top spot in the AIHL, this is a vital early-season clash for both of their finals aspirations. The Thunder have had an up-and-down start to the season, winning their first two games in regulation before winning just one of the past three games, all shootout decisions against the Sydney Bears. Conceding late goals has been a problem for the Thunder, having led in the final 90 seconds of both games last weekend, and they’ll hope to rectify that this weekend.
The Northstars have had a less-than-ideal start to the defence of their 2016 championship, winning just three of their first eight games, one in a shootout, but their total of 10 points is enough to see them in a top-four spot at this early stage. Surely it’s only a matter of time until they break in to a winning run.

Players to Watch
Thunder: Christian Ouellet
Some flight issues caused the newest Thunder import forward to miss last weekend’s series against the Bears, but he’s ready and available for the road trip to Sydney, and will be a welcome addition to the top line. Ben Breault and Jessyko Bernard went through a revolving cycle of right wings last weekend, and Ouellet will provide stability and scoring power, having finished fourth in scoring in the LNAH season that just finished. Having a second top-line wing with an elite shot may be the difference maker for the Thunder in this game.

Northstars: Felix-Antoine Poulin
Poulin is the latest in a line of high quality defencemen to come through the AIHL in recent seasons, and his puck moving ability has spurred the Northstars early in the 2017 season. He currently leads the league with 15 points in eight games, and will no doubt play big minutes against a high quality Thunder top line. If Poulin continues to be effective both at shutting down the Thunder top line and finding the back of the net himself, the Northstars are a great chance of winning.