Week 7 recap: Mustangs get retribution; Adrenaline, Brave split points

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Week 7 of the 2025 season dished up some absolute classics, kicking off with a clash of arch-rivals for the ages.

Adelaide would place their names in the history books, recording not just their first win of the season this weekend, but the first win in the Brave's new home at the AIS Arena.

Here are the key moments from the five games of Week 7 of the AIHL season.



Mustangs exact revenge in derby thriller

The 50^th instalment of the Melbourne Derby was perhaps the best to date, the Mustangs clinching a 3-2 victory in overtime in front of a raucous sold-out O’Brien Icehouse on Friday night. The win shortens the Ice’s first place lead to seven points, the Mustangs having two games in hand, and ties the season series between the Melbourne clubs at one win apiece.

It was a back-and-forth affair; each side trading goals all match. In fact, the Mustangs led for just 15 minutes in total and the remaining 45 minutes sat in a deadlock.

The goaltending was arguably the highlight of this derby, however, both Anthony Kimlin and Tatsu Ishida providing some electric highlight-reel worthy saves. Kimlin in particular was brilliant, facing countless surges in the opening 20 minutes but shutting the door time and time again, 0-0 at the first intermission despite 20 shots on goal for the Ice. Both of these two continue to prove themselves as the best goalies in the competition, as their save percentages of 0.913 and 0.914 respectively suggest. Kimlin reached 4000 career saves this weekend as well, 42 of which came on Friday night.

Eventually, the drought would end, and it was the Mustangs who opened the scoring, Tyrell Clare scoring seven minutes into the second period. It didn’t take long for the Ice to respond, however, Joakim Erdugan’s sensational season persisting with a beautiful move to push the puck past Kimlin unassisted.

Phillips’ third period goal looked to be the sealer for a long time, but an insane clutch stick in front of an empty net from Sebastian Bergholt gave the Ice one last roll of the dice. Kolton Shindle cycled the puck down low to Joey Hughes, who centred the puck to the net front twice, with both opportunities blocked away. A desperate poke at the crease from Mackenzie Caruana freed the puck and Hughes found himself looking at an empty net while sitting on the back post, tucking the game tying goal to send the crowd into a frenzy.

That left it to a sudden death overtime to decide the winner, the ninth time a derby has gone the extra distance. It wouldn’t take long for it to be over however, Mac Roy gaining speed on the rush before flipping the puck backhanded over Tatsu Ishida’s shoulder for the win, completing one of the great derby games in recent memory.

To give credit where it is due for both teams, the penalty kill units were sensational. As per usual in a derby, it was a heated encounter with plenty of physicality to go around, resulting in the Ice having six powerplay opportunities while the Mustangs had five of their own. Despite these opportunities being game breakers in recent derbies, such as the Ice’s pivotal opening goal in 2025’s first edition of the Melbourne Derby, both sides were completely unsuccessful this match. Even strength was where the game was won and perhaps unsurprisingly, the Mustangs lead the competition in even strength goals per game, 4.8 to the Ice’s 4.6.



Rhinos show heart but ultimately outclassed in Melbourne road trip

The Central Coast Rhinos playoff dreams are becoming a distant hope as they dropped their two games in Melbourne this weekend. While their defence had significantly improved from their last showing against the Melbourne clubs at O’Brien Icehouse, slow puck movement and a lack of rush opportunities halted what has typically been a fiery attack from the Rhinos this season.

The Mustangs came to play on Saturday evening, securing the three points in a 6-2 win. The Mustangs’ top line refuses to fall off, with either one of Ty Wishart, Scott Timmins and Zackary Phillips involved in four of their first five goals. The third goal hurt Central Coast most, unable to see out a 15-23 shot first period with a deficit of two goals. Phillips, assisted by the two former names mentioned, netted his fourth of 2025 with just 35 seconds remaining.

After going down 4-0 early in the second period, the Rhinos shifted momentum. In what was a penalty-fuelled period, Central Coast killed off multiple penalties before drawing several off Melbourne. Even when the Mustangs pinched one shorthanded, the Rhinos refused to lie down, scoring on the same man-advantage seconds later and then opening the final third with a quick goal from Mackenzie Bolger to close the margin to three. The 6-2 final scoreline isn’t great, but fans saw a much more spirited effort from the young Central Coast troops compared to the 10-1 belting they took earlier in the season.

Unfortunately for the Rhinos, the Ice’s upset loss last time around is still fresh in the memory. The Ice were significantly better defensively this time around, holding the Rhinos to just 28 shots, the third lowest tally this season. The Rhinos hung around and kept Melbourne on edge for most of the contest, however, scoring on the powerplay through Alexander Gauthier to knot the scores at 1-1 right before the first intermission. They also limited their penalties to avoid a repeat of the Ice’s dominance on the powerplay last time around.

Ultimately, the Ice were simply too good, Jamie Bourke and Joakim Erdugan stuffing the stat sheet again as they prove to be two of Melbourne’s most important players. Looking positively for Central Coast, goaltender Anand Oberoi continues to legitimise his status as one of the league’s most valuable players, recording a .907 save percentage and a tremendous 98 saves over this weekend. However, when a team concedes 65 shots on net in a single game, as the Rhinos did on Saturday, the goalie can only help out so much.

The Rhinos will seek revenge on the Ice next weekend back at home as Melbourne go north to play Newcastle and Central Coast. The Mustangs will go further up, as a titanic clash with the Brisbane Lightning awaits in what could potentially be a playoff preview.



Brave cut ribbon on new AIS home, share spoils with Adrenaline

The ferocious energy from the packed crowd of more than 2900 was a scene to behold as the Canberra Brave unveiled their new home at the AIS this weekend. However, the Adelaide Adrenaline played a partial role as party spoiler, securing their first win of the season on Saturday, 3-2.

Adelaide’s hot starts have continued, scoring twice in the opening 20 minutes while conceding just 11 shots in their defensive zone. Sean Greer and Daniel Chen each netted their first goals of the 2025 campaign to create the margin, silencing the Brave faithful. Ryan Foll’s goal three minutes into the second period extended that margin again, ultimately too much to overcome for Canberra despite a late charge that featured a short-handed goal with two minutes remaining.

Adelaide’s defence stood up on what is now the AIHL’s biggest stage, and it appears to have the Brave’s number in that department. Four of the Adrenaline’s five points this season come from games against Canberra, limiting them to an average of 31 shots per contest prior to Sunday.

The Brave recognised the need to ramp up the offensive intensity on Sunday, however, unwilling to lose both games at the AIS this weekend. It was demonstrated immediately in the first period, outshooting Adelaide 21-8 but again the Adrenaline’s strong starts prevailed once more, limiting Canberra to just one goal and keeping themselves in the game.

Canberra tore the game apart from there on out, led by Dominic Canic who now has 17 points in seven games. He assisted on Cameron Todd’s goal 19 seconds in before delivering two knockout blows in the final minutes of the second period while on special teams, a shorthanded goal followed by one on the powerplay.

The win keeps Canberra in touching distance of the top four, three points behind the Lightning, though Brisbane have three games in hand. They’ll need to back up that performance with wins over Newcastle next weekend, who also sit on 13 points currently. Meanwhile, Adelaide will fly west to take on Perth as both sides edge closer toward the halfway mark of the season.