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HELLYER LADDER

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

RURAK LADDER

Team	GP	W	L	PTS
Northstars	3	3	0	9
Adrenaline	1	1	0	3
Brave	4	1	3	3
Lightning	4	1	3	3
Rhinos	3	0	3	0

SCORING LEADERS

Aiden
Wagner (NNS)

Player	Points
Jeremiah Addison (PER)	14
Wehebe Darge (NNS)	12
francis Drolet (NNS)	12
Beau Taylor (NNS)	10

GOALIE LEADERS

N Novysedlak (BRE)

1.000

Goalie	SV%
Tatsunoshin Ishida (MIC)	.952
Rhys Pelliccione (PER)	.950
Leo Bertein (PER)	.912
Jeremy Friederich (ADE)	.912

Bears claim Wilson Cup; edge Ice Dogs

Sunday, April 17, 2016 - Submitted by Bernard McNamara

The Sydney Bears have won the 2016 AIHL Wilson Cup, defeating the Sydney Ice Dogs 3-1 at the Penrith Ice Palace on Saturday night.

In front of a vocal crowd, the home side jumped out to an early lead, thanks to a pair of goals to forward Geoff Irwin.

For the Bears, the Wilson Cup win is the first piece of hardware the club has secured since their 2007 Goodall Cup victory.

“It’s a great way to start the season,” Bears head coach Ron Kuprowsky said. “We can see the team is improving and getting stronger and the rewards come, it’s great to see”.

The Bears struck early in the first period with import forward Geoff Irwin showcased his speed to put the Bears up by two goals in under two minutes.

Despite a five-on-three power play opportunity in the first period, the Ice Dogs couldn’t make a dent in the Bears lead.

It took until 10 seconds from the end of the first period for Ice Dogs captain Scott Stephenson to halve the lead, sending the teams to the shed at 2-1 at the first intermission.

“We’ve got a rock solid defensive group this year,” Kuprowsky said. “It was great to have plenty of experience on the back end. The guys are not afraid to step up and clear out the front of our net.”

The game would stay 2-1 until with just under three minutes left on the clock, the Bears scored the insurance goal when Tomas Landa finished off a nice passing play to give the home side a 3-1 lead.

Although the Ice Dogs pulled goalie Jake Burgess with 1:40 left on the clock, they couldn’t find the back of the net and the Bears clinched the Wilson Cup.

It’s the ideal start to 2016 for Sydney Bears, as they aim to make it back to the AIHL Finals for the first time since 2010.

The Bears will be boosted by the return of their Australian Might Roo players captain Michael Schlamp, goalie Anthony Kimlin and forward Richard Tesarik, who secured gold for Australia in the IIHF Div 2 World Championships in Mexico, as well as several imports still to arrive.

For the Ice Dogs, making the Wilson Cup final has been a turning point for the club.

Under new head coach Vlad Rubes, the team has regained its bite, playing a physical style of hockey that will make them contenders in 2016, particularly with World Championship back-up goalie Charlie Smart and EIHL pair Paul Swindlehurst and Grant Toulmin still to be added to the squad.

“It was a really good preseason for us,” Rubes said. “We were training twice a week and the games we played in the Wilson Cup, the team really came together. As a coach, I want to win every game, but after last season where the Ice Dogs finished last, the goal is to win and get back to the playoffs.”

The AIHL season gets under way in less than a week and both team will be looking to build on strong pre-season performances.

The Ice Dogs start the season on road, travelling to Canberra to face the CBR Brave on Saturday night, while the Bears get their season under way on Sunday night, when they host the CBR Brave at the Penrith Ice Palace.

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