The Melbourne Ice came from behind to defeat the Ice Dogs 4-2 on Sunday night decked out in Swedish colours and are the first AIHL team to secure a 2017 Finals spot.

To celebrate their Swedish ties – including five Swedish players, Coaches Charles Franzen and Johan Steenberg, and a relationship with the Tranas AIF ice hockey club in Sweden – the Melbourne Ice hosted a special Swedish Day event, donned a yellow and blue jersey and played ABBA through the rafters on Sunday.

The Melbourne Ice in their custom "Swedish Day" jersey that pays homage to their ties with Sweden through players, coaches and sister clubs. Photo: Andrew McNamara. 

Momentum built early in the game but was temporarily disrupted with game clock issues, which put a dent in both teams’ rhythm. It was the Ice Dogs who recovered first: capitalising on opportunities when Billy Cliff found himself free in front of the net and sent the pass from Scott Johnson passed Dayne Davis to take the early lead 1-0.

Melbourne, however, looked a little rattled with Ketlo standing strong in nets for the Dogs.

Early momentum went the Ice Dogs way, with goals Scott Johnson and Strat Allen and an outstanding performance by Ketlo in nets. Photo: Tania Chalmers.

Melbourne’ Head Coach Charles Franzen spoke about Ketlo’s calibre.

 “Their goalie was standing on his head and made some really nice saves, and without being arrogant I think we should have scored goals in the second period, but he was making some saves and did a good job.”

The crowd was treated to end-to-end hockey from start to finish with all checks being followed through.  With just over two minutes on the clock, the Ice Dogs lost Scott Johnson following a hit on Melbourne’s Tyrone Bronte, which broke the young player’s nose on the boards, and cost Johnson a game misconduct.

The second period saw Melbourne come out fighting and starting on a power play but they couldn’t find their way past Ketlo.

The Dogs again capitalised on their opportunity, with Strat Allen picking up a rebound and dragging it around Davis to give his team a 2-0 lead against the top ranked team.

Franzen conceded his team took a while to get going.

“It was a strange game today, said Franzen.

“There was a lot of emotion with us having the Swedish day, with a lot of people in the stands supporting it. I think we got caught in it a little bit, and we didn’t have the speed in the first and second period.”

It was Joey Hughes that shifted the game’s momentum in favour of the home team in the third period, scoring Melbourne’s first goal of the night when he collected a drop pass and sent the puck high.

“Joey takes the room in the locker room, said Franzen.

“When he’s not satisfied, he steps up and tells them and it’s a huge benefit to have someone like him on the team and the other guys follow.”

Hughes' goal triggered a change in momentum and hustle for the Melbourne Ice. Photo: Tania Chalmers. 

It wasn’t long before Cassian Delsar was flicked a pass from matt Armstrong was and put the puck past the open back door around Kimlin to the tie the score 2-2.

Missing a key player from their top line, the Ice Dogs began to look tired and Melbourne took advantage.  Nicklas Dahlberg lifted the puck around Ketlo, punishing the goaltender as he moved too far out of his crease.

A quick follow-up goal from Armstrong, sealed the game with a 4-2 lead for the Ice and six competition points for their weekend at home.

Ice Dogs put a mighty effort in and the scoreboard didn’t reflect how strongly they played, but the Melbourne team earned their 4-2 come-back

Swedish strength in numbers: Gibbs-Sjodin with Armstrong (A), Backman and Dahlberg. Photo: Andrew McNamara.

Interestingly, three Swedish players played in a part in the Sunday result: Dahlberg (1 goal, 1 assist), and Viktor Gibbs-Sjodin and Backman each with an assist.

“If you have confidence in what you’re doing and you believe in what you’re doing, and game after game you are successful, every time we win or come back, we know we can do it and you have a confidence from this” stated Franzen.

This six point weekend secures Melbourne Ice a finals spot for 2017 and Franzen noted their ability to cycle critical players through rest for their Finals campaign.

“We are now in a good position where we can rest players, we don’t have to struggle or push players, we could play four lines if we need and we can rest players so they get healthy.