Week 11 recap: Mustangs, Thunder rebound with weekend sweeps

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The race for the lucrative top two seeds continued in week 11 of the AIHL season, with several playoff hopefuls winning crucial fixtures.

So, here are the key moments from the eight games this weekend.



Brave enter top four hunt with two crucial wins

The Canberra Brave mounted their charge toward the post-season with two important victories on the road, defeating Central Coast on Saturday 9-6 and Newcastle on Sunday 4-3.

The Rhinos got the jump on Saturday, Logan Brodie and Stuart Cole-Clark netting their firsts of the season, before Dmitri Kuleshov capitalised on the powerplay, his fourth of that kind this season. Despite trailing 3-0, Canberra found some energy and delivered a brutal response, scoring the next six, five coming in a dominant second period.

The Rhinos traded goals with Canberra for the remainder of the match, never finding the opportunity to claw back into the game, but there’s still some positives for them to take out of it. Central Coast’s powerplay continues to pose as a serious threat, scoring twice on five man-advantages in this contest.

The Brave kept their momentum going into the high stakes battle with the Northstars, drilling three first period goals to go into the first intermission up 3-1. The Brave were able to generate plenty of high danger opportunities to capture this lead, despite being outshot 22-11 in the period. Goaltender Alex Tetreault stood tall as Newcastle piled on 51 shots for the game, saving 48 of them for a .941 save percentage.

Newcastle’s high volume of shots did provide some hope for the home fans, getting within a goal with under five minutes remaining in the contest, but Tetreault was dialled in, Newcastle unable to score with an extra attacker in the final 90 seconds of the match. As a result, Canberra now leapfrog the Northstars in the standings, one point ahead in fifth place.



Mustangs bounce back as Timmins takes lead of scoring title

After dropping two games in New South Wales in week 10, the Mustangs found life with two dominant wins over Adelaide, seeing them jump to third on the ladder.

It was a defensive masterclass from Melbourne on Saturday, shutting out the Adrenaline 4-0. While Adelaide have typically been a formidable side in the opening 20 minutes, Melbourne got their advantage early, scoring via Dean Klomp on the powerplay after a high stick from Darcy Flanagan. Adelaide didn’t give up immediately, however, putting the pressure on Anthony Kimlin in net by outshooting the Mustangs across the second and third periods.

But Kimlin continues to prove why he has the best save percentage in the league, as he casually dispatched all 35 attempts to secure the shutout win for Melbourne, his first shutout since 2019.

Adelaide ramped up their intensity in Sunday’s rematch, outshooting Melbourne 14-7 in the first 20 minutes and drawing two powerplay opportunities. However, the Adrenaline’s ineffectiveness with their special teams was what let them down in the end, despite being in a strong position to win the game midway through the second period.

The Mustangs opened the scoring shorthanded on the first Adelaide powerplay before converting on their own three minutes into the second period. Jordan Warren scored to extend Melbourne’s lead to 3-1 a short time later, also on a 5-on-4, giving the Mustangs full control. They scored the next four goals afterward, the 7-1 deficit effectively putting the game to bed. Adelaide gained consolation with three goals in quick succession in the third but it was too little, too late, Melbourne securing an 8-4 win.

The standout for Melbourne this weekend was certainly Scott Timmins, who registered nine points across these two games. That catapults him to 46 points for the season, taking the lead off of Yu Hikosaka for top scorer in 2025.



Thunder earn five points in home series against Brisbane, jump into second place

Perth have hoisted themselves into the top two after taking five points home in their weekend series against Brisbane.

This matchup posed as a high stakes weekend series, many tipping two close games. Saturday was far from that, however, as Perth killed a lethargic Brisbane side with a flurry of first period goals, going up 5-1 by the first intermission.

Perth refused to take their foot off the gas, assaulting the Lightning net with 39 shots and walking out as emphatic 11-2 victors. Thirteen Thunder skaters registered points, with Kieran Webster’s hattrick and an assist doing the most damage to Brisbane.

However, Perth’s suffocating must be commended too as their pairings gave the forwards constant rush opportunities and extended offensive zone possessions. In fact, the Lightning only managed three shots for the full third period, compared to Perth’s 12. The Thunder were everywhere in this fixture and were full of confidence heading into Sunday’s rematch.

Brisbane found some fight on Sunday, crawling out of a 3-1 deficit to put themselves up 4-3 with one period to go, despite being heavily outshot. However, Yu Hikosaka’s 22^nd goal of the season tied things up moments into the final period, and while both sides would trade chances to win the game in regulation, it would need overtime to settle the difference.

Perth’s Jordan Kyros would take his chance, winning the game 5-4 for the Thunder and pushing him closer to breaking his career-high points total, now with 27 points (8G, 19A) to his name in 18 games.



Ice shake off valiant Newcastle, Central Coast efforts to extend points streak

The Melbourne Ice remain undefeated in regulation as their star power continues to be too much for even the strongest of the league’s defences. Newcastle, who have conceded the third fewest goals out of any club this year, couldn’t shut the flood gates in the first period as the Ice’s top line was too potent, David Booth, Mackenzie Caruana, Kolton Shindle and Joakim Erdugan combining for their four goals.

It's impossible to beat fire with fire against the Ice too. Newcastle have quietly become one of the more dangerous offensive units in the league, averaging well over 40 shots per game this month. Against the Ice, however, that volume of shots will only get you so far when Tatsu Ishida resides in net. He finished this game with 43 saves from 46 Northstar shots for a .935 save percentage to lead Melbourne to a 6-3 win.

The Rhinos gave the Ice a good run for their money on Sunday, the scoreline a deadlock at 4-4 deep into the second period. Tomas Landa’s powerful shot netted him two of Central Coast’s goals as they capitalised on their few opportunities with the puck.

However, the Rhinos will rue their lack of discipline, conceding 45 penalty minutes for the match and seven powerplays for the Ice. With Melbourne’s star power, those penalties made things too easy, going 4 for 7 on the man advantage to brutally dominate the Rhinos, also unleashing 31 more shots on goal in the final two periods. That volume was simply too much to deal with for Anand Oberoi, who until the third period, kept the Rhinos well in the game, but the Ice piled on six to fly back to Melbourne as winners, 10-4.

The final Melbourne Derby of the home-and-away season awaits the Ice, as well as a rematch with Newcastle. If this weekend is anything to go by, that could certainly become one of the games of the season.