Oddy shines in 300th game

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Adelaide Adrenaline captain Greg Oddy recorded five points in his 300^th game to lead his side to an 8-1 drubbing of the Sydney Bears in Adelaide on Sunday afternoon.
 
Scoring two goals and three assists, Oddy led his side with aplomb, easily overcoming an early goal against to dispatch the Bears.
 
“I felt good out there once I put that first shift behind me,” Oddy said. “The way that we responded was good.”
 
The Sydney Bears opened the scoring only five minutes into the first period through Sean Hamilton Steen, who scored his fourth goal of the weekend. However, from there, it was all one-way traffic as the Adrenaline settled into the game, outshooting the Sydney-siders 46-25.
 
Although Adelaide gave Sydney ten power play opportunities, including two three-on-five chances, the Adrenaline held strong on the penalty kill, even managing to score two shorthanded goals.
 
Adrenaline coach Ryan O’ Handley was impressed with the penalty kill, giving credit to his assistant coach Eric Lien.
 
“He’s [Lien] got those guys killing penalties really well,” he said. “We’re clogging the ice, we’ve got a good swing going forward, so give credit to my assistant coach—everybody knows what they’re doing on the PK.”
 
Adelaide equalised about a minute after Sydney scored the first, with Kayne Fedor scoring his first AIHL goal pushing the loose puck past Bears goalie Luke Read, who replaced the injured Daniel Palmkvist. Fedor would also score the final goal.
 
Bears coach Steve Austin said that Palmkvist pulled up with a hip problem after Saturday’s loss to the Adrenaline.
 
“He’s [Palmkvist] got a bit of a hip problem, he couldn’t turn his leg out last night, and came to me after the game and said he was pretty sore,” Austin said.
 
After the Adrenaline scored their first goal, they piled on the pressure, creating numerous turnovers that resulted in goals.
 
Oddy opened his account late in the first, redirecting a pass from Niko Suoraniemi past Read’s glove, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
 
The second period saw Adelaide score another three goals through an even strength goal to James Keane, power play goal to Oddy and shorthanded goal to Wehebe Darge to take their lead to 5-1 at the end of the frame.
 
A fight between Adelaide’s Dean Peterson and Sydney’s Jarrod Smith saw them receive five-minute majors and both were ejected from the game.
 
The final period was much the same with Adelaide piling on another three goals, including their second shorthanded goal through Suoraniemi, David Huxley and Fedor to seal a memorable win on a memorable day.
 
O’Handley said that the two shorthanded goals were a bonus, and that the penalty kill’s first priority is defence.
 
“That’s a bonus—we’re not actually trying do that,” he said. “We don’t purposefully try and jump it, but we had some opportunities, and Wehebe Darge’s lightning quick.”
 
Oddy was given a standing ovation as the final buzzer went; the home team recording their sixth straight win.
 
The Adelaide Adrenaline captain was happy with the team’s effort, stressing the importance of winning every game at this point in the season.
 
“We have to [win] at this stage of the year and can’t afford to drop games,” Oddy said. “We also want to get some momentum, heading to Melbourne in a couple of weeks.”
 
With the Sydney Bear’s playoff aspirations officially over, coach Austin wants his young players to gain more experience.
 
“It’s tough—I think our season may be pretty well done, but we’re a young team,” he said. “We’ve got a good future ahead of us with some players only in their early twenties.”
 
The Sydney Bears head home to take on the Brave next Sunday. Meanwhile, Adelaide has the week off, before taking on the Ice in Melbourne in a match that will have dramatic finals implications with the fifth-placed Adrenaline only three points behind the equal first placed Ice.