Perth vs Brisbane

The Perth Inferno and Melbourne Ice will face off tonight for the Gold Medal and Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy. Meanwhile, the Brisbane Lightning and Adelaide Rush will shake off disappointing semi-final results and play for Bronze.

Both semi-final winners will be grateful to their respective goaltenders. The Brisbane Lightning bolted out of the gate early, dominating possession and capitalising off a fortuitous bounce to take an early 1-0 lead on the powerplay.

Sharnita “Neat Neat” Crompton potted the goal, and Brisbane pressed for an insurance marker. The Inferno struggled to exit the zone, and when the team did gain neutral ice, they were forced to dump and change.

The shot count after the first period was 18-5 in favour of the Lightning. The second period saw a more even contest.

Lightning goaltender Katie Meyer made a spectacular save to deny the Inferno on the powerplay midway through the period. The pressure was building, and as another Inferno powerplay expired, the Inferno finally found the back of the net.

Georgia McLellan found space through neutral ice, skated down the left wing, and roofed a wrister over Meyer with 4:27 remaining in the middle frame. Badgley had left the box just one second later.

The goal went to the Inferno legs, and with a Lightning player in the penalty box, Molly Lukowiak converted just 21 seconds into the third period.

Brisbane dominated the remainder of the third period and had an opportunity to tie the game on a 5-on-3 powerplay.

However, the Inferno stood strong in front of King, and with less than a minute remaining, Sara Sammons raced onto a Michelle Clark-Crumpton pass and sealed the victory with an empty net goal.

The Inferno will play in the gold medal game for the first time in the club’s history.

“I’m just stoked for the girls,” Inferno Head Coach Graham Hyde told Hockey Hype Australia following the game. “I’m stoked for the club; it’s been a history-breaking season for us.

“First time winning in Melbourne, first time winning in Sydney, take top spot with the pressure of that. It’s just a relief to get that one [the semi-final] out of the way.

“We’re going to win a medal, gold or silver, preferably gold, but we’ve guaranteed a medal, which is a nice feeling.

Georgia McLellan got things going for the Inferno. The star blueliner scored two goals in 14 regular season games, and came up big in the semi-final.

“Just before G [Georgia] scored,” Hyde continued, “I told Molly [Lukowiak], Sara [Sammons], Biz [Scala], Michelle [Clark-Crumpton] we’re knocking on the door. It’s coming.”

The Inferno bench boss agreed Sasha King kept the team in the game, but all three lines contributed at the end to win the game. A similar team effort will be needed to bring home the Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy for the first time in Inferno team history.

Melbourne vs Adelaide

In the day’s second game, the Melbourne Ice came out flying against the Adelaide Rush. Beatrice Arsenault-Dufour scored first seven minutes into the game. Steph Conlon added another two goals in the first period, and the Ice went into the break with a 3-0 lead.

Danielle Butler was double-shifted in the opening period, and the star forward scored just 21 seconds into the second period off a Sharna Godfrey feed.

Adelaide was reeling but started to muscle its way back into the contest. Ayris found Malthaner at the back door to put the Rush on the board midway through the period.

Three minutes later, Tash Farrier roofed a loose puck from in tight to cut the deficit to two. Adelaide continued to press, but Carson stood tall to frustrate the Rush.

In the last weekend of the regular season, the Ice struggled in the third period and saw leads evaporate as they were outscored 7-0 in the final periods against the Lightning.

The Ice showed no signs of fatigue, and although they were outshot 13-6, they did just enough to withstand the attack. Danielle Butler sealed the game with a beautiful goal with 2:50 remaining to make it 5-2.

“It’s a big game to win,” player of the moment Jenelle Carson commented, “I feel like at times that one’s a little bit more important than the actual final itself.

“I think the vibe really early on was amazing for the team and we knew exactly how to get the job done.”

“The early lead was important,” according to Melbourne Ice Head Coach Curtis Klooster, who added the importance of not sitting back, but continuing to battle.

The Adelaide Rush struggled to gain the offensive zone early in the game.

“I’ve never seen this team play so hard two-way as they did tonight,” Klooster mentioned with pride. “For us this year, it means a lot to beat them [Adelaide], because they’re a tough, fit team.”

When asked about the decision to double-shift Butler early in the game Klooster noted “she was hustling. She was backchecking harder than she’s backchecked all year.”

Klooster, like Hyde, was appreciative of his netminder. “There’s a reason we started her [Carson] tonight, and she’s going to start again [in the final].

“When she’s on she rivals the best in the league.”