Ice topple Mustangs, Bears to remain undefeated
The Melbourne Ice continued their strong start to season 2024 with a 5-2 victory over the Melbourne Mustangs in the first Melbourne Derby for 2024, in front of a sold-out O’Brien Icehouse on Friday night.
An offensive minded first period saw the Ice jump out to a 3-2 lead over the Mustangs, thanks to goals from Chrstian Pansino, Ellesse Carini and Lliam Webster. Chris Lawrence and Tom Flack responded for the Mustangs before the intermission. The shot counter slowed in the second, until Webster netted his second for the game, followed by a tally from Joakim Erdugan in the third period to produce a 5-2 Ice victory. Tatsunoshin Ishida made 29 saves from 31 shots in the win.
The Ice backed it up on the Sunday against the Sydney Bears, who were looking to extend their winning streak to 5 after dispatching the Mustangs on Saturday night.
A 3-goal second period from the Ice put Sydney well and truly on the backfoot for the rest of the game, with Sai Lake, Joey Hughes and Joakim Erdugan getting his second goal for the weekend to make it 3-0 before the break.
Sydney battled back in the second with Ryan Annesley and Adam Kadlec answering with goals of their own, cutting the deficit to one. However, they were unable to tie the game and Josh Walt added an insurance marker with 10 seconds remaining in the game to give the Ice a 4-2 victory and the full six points from the weekend.
 
Bears dominate Mustangs in wild game in Melbourne
The Sydney Bears and Melbourne Mustangs met in a wild clash at the O'Brien Icehouse on Saturday night, with the Bears running out 9-7 winners in a goalfest which saw hat-tricks to both Brody Lindal and Ty Wishart.
The Bears got the jump on the Mustangs in the first period, racing out to a 3-0 early lead thanks to goals from Lucas Hermann, Adam Kadlec and Chris Eaden. Ty Wishart tried to stem the bleeding with a goal but was answered almost immediately on a shorthanded breakaway by Sami Vainionpaa, to give the Bears a 4-1 lead at the first intermission.
Chris Lawrence, in what appears to be his last game in a Mustangs jersey, opened the scoring in the second period on the power play to cut the deficit to 4-2. However, this would not last as the Bears increased the pressure on Seb Woodlands in the Mustangs' net and would find a way through via Noah Moncrieff. Vainionpaa got his second of the game a few minutes later to extend the lead out to three for Sydney, going into the second intermission.
The third period turned ugly on the scoresheet and on the ice, as it rained goals and penalties culminating in a now-viral scrap between Tom Moncrieff and Matt Knox that got the home crowd back into the game.
Wishart started the period off right for the Mustangs, netting his second as the rest of the period went goal-for-goal as defence became optional. Lindal scored twice in four minutes with Dean Klomp responding for Melbourne to keep the deficit respectable for the Mustangs. Lindal completed his hat-trick a few moments later and despite the Mustangs scoring three goals in the last 5 minutes, the gap was already too great with the Bears running out 9-7 winners in a memorable one.
The Mustangs head on the road to NSW for the first time next week, playing Newcastle on Saturday and a rematch with the Bears on Sunday. The Bears will also host the Adelaide Adrenaline on the Saturday.
Rhinos grab first win of the season after splitting points with Lightning
The Central Coast Rhinos have grabbed their first win of the season over the Brisbane Lightning, after a thrilling double header weekend in the Sunshine State.
Despite being heavily outshot in the first period on Saturday, the Rhinos would score first through Bert Malloy to give them a 1-0 lead. The Rhinos turned the tables in the shot column in the second period, but could not find another thanks to some stellar goaltending by Curtis Meger in the Brisbane net.
The 1-0 Rhinos lead lasted until midway through the third period, when Arum Rapchuk levelled the scores with his 4th of the season, denying the Rhinos the full three points and sending the game to overtime. Mitch Dyck then completed the comeback for the Lightning with 30 seconds remaining in OT, to give the Lighting the win heading into the second game on Sunday.
Aaron Wanat opened the scoring for Brisbane with his first of the year in the opening frame, to give them a 1-0 lead. However, the Rhinos would then score the next 4 straight thanks to Mackenzie Bolger, Hayden Dawes and a pair from Andrew Smardon. Rapchuk would add another late in the third which would be cancelled out by Matt Brown grabbing a late one, to seal the 5-2 victory and the first win of the year for Central Coast.
The Rhinos host the Ice Dogs and the Adrenaline next weekend, while the Lightning have a bye weekend.
Photo: Cassandra Edwards
Thunder eclipse Adrenaline in goaltending battle in Perth
Rylan Toth and Leo Bertein engaged in a goaltending duel in the west on Saturday, with the Perth Thunder netminder prevailing with his first AIHL shutout in a 1-0 win over the Adelaide Adrenaline.
Ex-Abbotsford Heat alumni Toth made his first start in net for Adelaide and did not disappoint, turning aside everything thrown at him from the Thunder forwards at Perth Ice Arena for nearly three periods.
In a physical and penalty-filled affair, both teams had chances on the man-advantage but couldn’t convert, thanks to Bertein and Toth going save-for-save at each end.
After two scoreless periods of hockey that looked destined for overtime, it wouldn’t be until the final 8 minutes where Adelaide would come undone, after a major penalty was given to Joey MacDougall for butt-ending, resulting in a 5-minute power play to the Thunder.
Jeremiah Addison ripped one through traffic in front of Toth with 5:29 remaining, with his 11th of the season being enough to get the Thunder the 1-0 win and move to 5 wins from 7 games for the year. Bertein made 35 stops for his first shutout for 2024, while Toth made 18 saves on 19 shots.
Perth have a weekend off this week, while Adelaide face the Bears at Macquarie on Saturday followed by a date with the Rhinos at Erina on Sunday.
Photo: Jess Fuller
Newcastle suffer first defeat of the season after winning in Canberra for first time in six seasons
The Newcastle Northstars have suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of the Sydney Ice Dogs in a shootout on Sunday, after having their first regulation win over the Canberra Brave in the nation's capital since 2017.
The Northstars got on the board first thanks to ex-Brave player Wehebe Darge in a first period that produced 26 shots, finishing 1-0 after 20 minutes. Beau Taylor made the Newcastle lead 2-0 in the second until Kai Miettinen responded 4 minutes later to make it 2-1. Aiden Wagner replied instantly for Newcastle less than a minute later with his 5th of the season, to send it to the second intermission 3-1 for the visitors.
Miettinen again kept his team in it with an early goal to pull the Brave back within one, 5 minutes into the final frame. However, a pair of Francis Drolet tallies within a minute of each other put the game beyond doubt for Newcastle. Hamish Powell added a late one to wrap the game up 6-2 for the Northstars.
Newcastle took that momentum into Sunday against the Sydney Ice Dogs at home, jumping out to a two-goal lead early in the first period thanks to Darge and Drolet. Grant Toulmin and Daniel Berno then exchanged power play goals, with Dmitri Kuleshov adding a late one for Sydney to narrow the score to 3-2 Newcastle after the first period.
Kuleshov then threw in a goal of the season contender less than a minute into the second and added another 4 minutes later, to complete the hat-trick and give the Ice Dogs a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes of hockey.
Pat Nadin tied the game early in the first only for Toulmin to get Sydney back in front three minutes later. Newcastle threw everything at Arvid Ljung in the Ice Dogs net and finally broke through thanks to Nadin again for his 4th of the year to send the game to overtime.
With neither team scoring in the extra five minutes, it headed to a shootout where Kuleshov would cap off a 5-point night by being the only player to score. The Ice Dogs took the overtime win and handed Newcastle it's first loss of the 2024 season.
Newcastle will host the Mustangs and Bears next week, while the Ice Dogs travel to Central Coast on Saturday and then return home on Sunday to face the Mustangs at Macquarie.
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