The Sydney Bears defeated the Perth Thunder 6-5 at the Sydney Ice Arena on Sunday night, snapping a nine-game losing streak.
It’s been a long time in between drinks for the Sydney Bears, with their last win on the 11th of May against the Thunder in Perth.
Perth came into the clash riding a four-game win streak. After an impressive 5-0 win against the North Stars in Newcastle on Saturday night, the Thunder were looking to earn maximum points form their NSW road trip but a gutsy performance by the Bears saw the visitors fall just short.
“The boys did themselves proud tonight,” said Bears assistant coach Steve Austin. “They never gave up and they stuck together. That win was so important for us. It’s going to lift our confidence and hopefully we can keep it rolling for the rest of the season.”
Defence proved to be the game-breaker for the Bears at both ends of the ice. Bears’ defencemen contributed four out of the six goals on the night and they came up big in the dying minutes as the Thunder pushed for a late equaliser.
Austin applauded his team's work ethic.
“After last night’s game [against the Ice Dogs], we were able to tweak our systems,” Austin said. “We came out tonight with a system where everybody contributed to defence and it really paid off in the third period.”
Despite the score, both goalies had excellent games. Mathieu Dugas continued his goalie ladder leading ways for the Thunder, turning away 35 shots in an impressive performance with several incredible glove saves.
Bears goalie, Daniel Palmkvist, also continued his strong season in net for the Sydneysiders, stopping 35 of 40 shots. Palmkvist was a vocal force for the Bears, barking orders from the crease and skating over to his bench in between whistles to rally his defence.
“Daniel is a great communicator on and off the ice,” Bears defenceman and alternate captain Ben Di Marco said. “It’s great to have a goalie back there that sees the ice and lets his defence know which plays to make.”
Having traded goals in the first two periods, including three power play goals in the second period, the game was hanging precariously at 2-all.
In the third period, both teams broke their shackles scoring a combined seven goals.
The Bears were first to strike, when Di Marco jumped on a loose puck in the Thunder’s zone, sliding the puck under Dugas.
Corey Toy added his second goal of the game only 50 seconds later, adding a shorthanded goal to lock the scores up.
However, the turning point of the game came when the Bears scored on back-to-back chances only 10 seconds apart. A shot from the point by Steve Adams found its way through a crowded crease, and ended up in the back of the Perth net. Off the ensuing face off, Di Marco picked off a break out pass and charged towards the Perth net uncontested. Dugas, made the first save, but Di Marco was able to bury his own rebound.
Completing a crazy opening to the third period, Justin Fox kept the Thunder only a goal behind with 14:45 left to play. Ultimately, Fox finished the night with a hat-trick and now leads all Thunder skaters with 10 goals on the season.
A second goal from Adrian Esposito ensured the home team kept their noses in front. Heading into the final minutes, when Bears' forward, Alec Stephenson, was called for slashing with just 3:35 to play, the scene was set for a grandstand finish.
With their net empty, the Thunder pushed hard for the equaliser. However, with the crowd on their feet cheering the home side on, the Bears hung on for a memorable victory.
The teams will meet again on 19 July in Sydney for the final time in 2014. The Bears will be looking for the season sweep, after winning three encounters with the Thunder.
Next week, the Bears travel to Melbourne to take on the Ice and league-leading Mustangs while the Thunder will enjoy a bye week, before hosting the Newcastle North Stars the following week in Perth.
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