The Perth Thunder held off a surging Adelaide Adrenaline side to take home three points in a tight contest on Saturday night at Adelaide’s IceArenA.
Perth Thunder Coach David Kenway was impressed with his side’s ability to grind out a 3-2 win away from home.
“I think our guys beared down in a tight game and played their positions in the defensive zones when it got a bit scrappy at the end,” he said.
Kenway praised the the effort of goalie Thomas Heemskerk in net late in the game.
“Heemskerk is good every game, and he’s been a really good signing for us and steps up every game when we need him,” he said.
Adrenaline Coach Trevor Walsh was disappointed with the team’s effort in the first two periods.
“The effort just wasn’t there,” he said. “We wanted to jump on them – we know they had been travelling – but we didn’t came out of the gate.”
The Thunder had the majority of the early opportunities, with a power play and a number of shots.
However, it was the Adrenaline that registered the first goal through Captain Greg Oddy scored his second goal of the season, when he found himself in front of an open net.
An accurate pass from import Gabrielle O’ Connor on the right wing found Oddy in the slot, and he fired it home past Perth Thunder goalie Thomas Heemskerk.
Perth responded minutes later when Tomek Sak managed to slide the puck through King’s five-hole to level the score.
It was a tight start to the middle frame, until Jessyko Bernard broke the deadlock at the midway point of the period on the powerplay.
Under pressure from Darren Corstens, he flicked the puck into the net, to the left of King.
Late in the period, Liam Jeffries opened his account for the 2016 season, giving the Thunder a two-goal lead going into the final period.
Adelaide's pressure and intensity lifted in third and reduced the lead when a shot from Cole MacMillan deflected off Andrew Cox’s foot and ended up in the back of the net to bring the Adrenaline within one.
The home crowd got behind the resurgent Adelaide Adrenaline as they looked for the game-tying goal in the dying minutes of the clash.
However, they were unable to find the net once more, and the Thunder held on for their fifth win of the season.
Kenway expected the Adelaide Adrenaline to fight back after being down by two goals in the third period.
“Adelaide are always a tough team, and you can never count them out no matter how far down they are,” he said.
The Adrenaline travel to Melbourne next week to take on the Mustangs, while the Thunder host the unbeaten Ice in a top-of-the-table clash.