Mighty Roos down the Ice in exhibition hit-out

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The Australian National Men’s Team continued their preparation for the 2014 World Championships, defeating the Melbourne Ice 4-1 in Saturday night’s exhibition game at the Medibank Icehouse.

AFL superstar Luke Hodge dropped the puck before the game, showing his support for the national team by sporting a green and gold Mighty Roos jersey.

Going into the game, Melbourne Ice head coach Brent Laver was eager to see who would step up in the absence of the six players who were on national representative duties. Laver saw the exhibition game as an opportunity to solidify the Ice's lineup before the first game of the regular season next Saturday, against the Sydney Ice Dogs. 

“The best thing about it is that these guys now have to play without the guys that are in the national team." Laver said. "It's about opportunity, and that's what we've been talking about all week. We've taken the time to chat to them about who's going to step up and who's ready to take the challenge on".

Swedish import Gustaf Huth was impressive in net for the Ice, but shared duties with new Ice recruit Rick Ashton, who relieved him halfway through the game. 

Offensively, the Mighty Roos shared the load with Michael Schlamp, Adam Geric, Lliam Webster and Tommy Powell scoring goals. Captain Greg Oddy supported well, adding two assists of his own.

The first period saw the Ice getting on the board with a wonderful slap shot from Matt Armstrong, igniting the Ice fans in the house.

Shortly after, Ice forward Scott Corbett left the ice after copping a hefty elbow. It was reported that Corbett suffered a concussion but is set to make a full recovery, according to the Melbourne Ice Facebook page.

Both teams aggressively sought to break the deadlock, and it took until three minutes left in the period for the Newcastle North Stars’ Adam Geric to score from the slot.

In spite of vociferous support from Ice fans, Webster scored late in the third, and Powell scored an empty netter in the final seconds to bring the score to 4-1.

It was a solid hit-out for both sides as they prepare for their respective campaigns Laver said it was a good warm up as the Ice aim to regain the Goodall Cup in 2014.

“We do have really, really high expectations” Laver said. "If we hit all of our expectations we'll go deep and give ourselves a chance of playing playoffs". 

The Mighty Roos begin their tilt at the Division 2 Group A World Championships in Serbia on Thursday morning at 12.30am AEST, while the Melbourne Ice kick off the 2014 AIHL season against the Sydney Ice Dogs at the Medibank Icehouse on Saturday April 12 at 5pm.