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HELLYER LADDER

Team	GP	W	L	PTS
Ice	5	5	0	15
Thunder	6	4	2	12
Bears	4	3	1	9
Mustangs	3	1	2	3
Ice Dogs	5	1	4	3

RURAK LADDER

Team	GP	W	L	OTW	OTL	PTS
Northstars	4	3	0	1	0	11
Lightning	6	3	3	0	0	9
Adrenaline	3	1	1	0	1	4
Brave	6	1	5	0	0	3
Rhinos	4	0	4	0	0	0

SCORING LEADERS

Jeremiah
Addison (PER)

Player	Points
Aiden Wagner (NNS)	18
Wehebe Darge (NNS)	15
francis Drolet (NNS)	15
Joey HUGHES (MIC)	14

GOALIE LEADERS

N Novysedlak (BRE)

1.000

Goalie	SV%
Rhys Pelliccione (PER)	.950
Tatsunoshin Ishida (MIC)	.933
Leo Bertein (PER)	.905
Charles Smart (NNS)	.903

Four straight for Mustangs; edge North Stars

Sunday, July 26, 2015 - Submitted by Bianca Gibson

The Melbourne Mustangs have rocketed back into finals contention with a huge 2-1 win over the Newcastle North Stars at the Medibank Icehouse on Saturday night.

July has been a good month for the Mustangs, including winning their last four games to move only nine points outside the top four with two games in hand over the CBR Brave, adding another layer of intrigue to the fascinating race for fourth-place on the AIHL ladder..

Celebrating a series of powerful victories over the Sydney Ice Dogs and the Melbourne Ice, the Mustangs were riding high on the new found confidence with head coach Brad Vigon appreciating the wins and noting the effects it has had on his team.

“We played with a bit of heart and desire for probably the first time this season,” Vigon said.

With a specific game plan for the night, matching top lines and top defensive pairings, the Mustangs played with vigour and discipline against the equally matched North Stars, with both teams struggling to score in the first.

Missing Beau Taylor and Brian Bales, the New South Welshmen were down two significant players as they went up against the Mustangs’ roster not far from full strength with Vigon noting the differences to the last time the two teams met in Newcastle when the Mustangs were down several men.

“They had momentum and we had nothing in the tank to stop it,” Vigon recalled. “Obviously a very different game.”

After the tight opening, the North Stars were able to kick off the scoring through Shane Southwood on a power play.

The Mustangs confidence was in full view on Saturday night and they quickly fired back and balanced the scores with a goal from Pat O’Kane just over a minute later.

Strong defensive pairings and a solid performance in goals from the Mustangs’ Fraser Carson and North Stars’ Dayne Davis guaranteed a tight game, with neither team able to slip the puck past the two determined goalies.

Neither team were prepared to give in and with vital points on the line, it would not be an easy game to win.

However, it was the Melbourne forward, Viktor Gibbs Sjödin, fresh from a game suspension, who pushed the Mustangs over the line with just five minutes remaining, scoring what would be the deciding goal in the third.

Despite having a full weekend to prepare for Melbourne, Newcastle’s loss — their fourth this season — was uncharacteristically flat for the team who pride themselves on their energetic tempo according to North Stars coach Andrew Petrie.

“I thought we were just a little bit lackadaisical tonight,” Petrie said. “I don’t think we played badly. I actually thought we played fairly well, we just didn’t have that sort of pep and jump that we normally have.”

In preparation for part two of their double header, the North Stars aimed to changed things up going against the Melbourne Ice on Sunday because the Ice bring a different style and a new set of challenges for visiting teams and a versatile game plan is crucial.

“We’ll have a different line up tomorrow so we’ll play the Ice differently,” Petrie explained. “The Mustangs and the Ice are very different in terms of their structure and systems.”

Meanwhile, the Mustangs will keep doing what has been working for them recently as they head interstate.

The Melbourne Mustangs attempt to continue their winning streak in Perth against the Thunder, before heading to Adelaide on Sunday, while the North Stars face-off against the Sydney Bears at Penrith before hosting the Sydney Ice Dogs on Sunday.

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