Nine games were played across the weekend in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). Records were broken, a top of the table clash did not disappoint, and there was a bevy of brilliant performances.

Sydney Ice Dogs 6-5 Brisbane Lightning (OT)

The Ice Dogs ended a five-game skid with a victory over the Lightning on the road at Boondall. Alex Macdonald opened the scoring for the Ice Dogs, and Julian Fodor (Lightning) and Dmitri Kuleshov (Ice Dogs) added powerplay goals for a 2-1 lead at the first break.

Mike Dalhuisen added a powerplay goal with just four seconds left in the second period. It was a landmark goal for the Ice Dogs, the first time this season the team has scored multiple powerplay goals in a game.

Neil Pretorius cut the lead to 3-2 early in the third with his first goal of the season. Macdonald restored the two goal advantage with his 12th goal of the season with 12:55 left to play in regulation.

A flurry of goals followed as Mitchell Dyck scored for the hosts, Cameron Todd responded for the visitors, and Fodor added a second in a four minute spell. With the Ice Dogs leading 5-4, Dyck scored his second to tie the game in the final two minutes.

The game went to overtime, and it was Todd – wreaking havoc in the crease – who tucked a loose puck past Lightning goaltender Curtis Meger for the 6-5 win.

Melbourne Ice 7-1 Newcastle Northstars

It was a promising matchup, the top team in the Rurak Conference battling the top team in the Hellyer Conference. It was also a battle between the league’s two Japanese goaltenders – Tatsunoshin Ishida for the Ice, and Mitsuaki Inoue for the Northstars.

However, it was largely one-way traffic as the visitors trounced the hosts at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium.

Lliam Webster, Mackenzie Caruana, and Austin McKenzie scored for the Ice to open up a 3-0 first period lead. Austin Albrecht added a lone goal in the second period to take the score to 4-0.

Daniel Berno pulled one back for the Northstars in the powerplay early in the third period. But goals to Roman Kraemer, Albrecht, and Jeff Solow put the emphasis on a dominant performance by the league-leading Melbourne Ice.

Ellesse Carini made his return for the Melbourne Ice, his first game back since April 26. Carini recorded an assist and slotted in seamlessly on the Ice top line with Joey Hughes and Albrecht.

Sydney Bears 4-2 Perth Thunder

It’s been a long time since Bears’ fans have witnessed a home victory over the Perth Thunder. June 22, 2019 was the last time the Bears defeated the Thunder at Macquarie, 5-4 in overtime. The last time the Bears picked up maximum points against the Thunder on home ice was July 29, 2018.

Adam Kadlec, the league’s leading points and goal scorer put the hosts on the board inside a minute with a sharp-angle shot that surprised Thunder goaltender Leo Bertein.

Alastair Punler silenced the crowd with a deflected shot that beat Bears goaltender Anthony Kimlin to tie the game at one. Ville Tenosalmi put the hosts up early in the third period to ratchet up the anxiety in the building.

Christopher Eaden scored on the powerplay midway through the period to tie the game at two. Later, Eaden turned provider, setting up Lucas Herrmann who dangled past Bertein to take the lead. Kadlec added an empty netter in the final minute for the 4-2 final score.

It was the first time this season the Bears have won a game while being outshot. Kimlin’s performance was massive in earning the three points.

Melbourne Mustangs 5-2 Canberra Brave

The Brave entered the game coming off a huge win over the Sydney Bears last weekend while the Mustangs were on a three-game skid. However, Scott Timmins returned to the line-up after serving a two-game suspension and made an immediate impact.

Thomas Flack opened the scoring for the Mustangs, his ninth of the season, before Timmins doubled the lead with his 13th goal of the campaign.

Ty Wishart added a third in the powerplay midway through the second period before Austin Cangelosi responded for the hosts 21 seconds later. The teams went into the final break with the score 3-1 in favour of the Mustangs.

Cangelosi double-dipped on the powerplay in the final period, his 10th goal of the season, to cut the lead in half. However, Timmins scored shorthanded and added an empty-netter to seal the 5-2 victory for the Mustangs in the Brave Cave.

The Mustangs’ win, combined with the Thunder loss, pulled the defending champions within 12 points of the third and final playoff spot.

Adelaide Adrenaline 2-1 Central Coast Rhinos

It was a huge match-up between the bottom two teams in the Rurak Conference. While the top teams in the Hellyer Conference have brought ladders, the top teams in the Rurak have brought shovels, meaning the playoff race is wide open.

The Adrenaline got off to a perfect start, Josh Adkins scored early in the first period to ignite the home crowd. However, Aziz Baazzi equalised just 24 seconds later to restore parity.

Zach Boyle scored a go-ahead goal before the period ended. His seeing eye shot found its way past a screened Anand Oberoi and into the back of the net. The Adrenaline went into the second period with a rare 2-1 lead.

The hosts continued to dominate in the second frame, outshooting the Rhinos 13-5, but couldn’t find a way past Oberoi. A long delay due to ice issues took the fizz out of the game temporarily.

Both goaltenders denied opportunities in the third period, and the Adrenaline held on for the 2-1 win. It was the Adrenaline’s second win of the season, and the first win for Rylan Toth, who has been robbed of a win previously despite outstanding performances.

The win also drew the last-placed Adrenaline within a single point of the Rhinos in fourth place, Sunday’s matchup rose in importance for both clubs.

Perth Thunder 2-1 Newcastle Northstars (OT)

These two teams battled hard in Perth the previous weekend, with the Thunder squeaking out two wins, one in regulation, and one in a nine round shootout. The rematch at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium was expected to be a similarly hard-fought affair.

The Thunder dominated the opening frame, but a Kyler Matthews powerplay goal with 10 seconds left in the first gave the hosts a 1-0 lead. Charlie Smart was massive, stopping all 12 shots in the first while his team fired six shots on Bertein.

With Jamie Woodman in the box and the Northstars on an abbreviated powerplay, Yu Hikosaka scored shorthanded for the Thunder to tie the game up at one heading into the final period.

The Northstars were held under siege for much of the third period, and Charlie Smart had to be excellent to keep the scores level. At the end of regulation the shots were 48-24 in favour of the Thunder.

As the Thunder frustrated the Northstars in overtime, Alexander Yuill took a hooking penalty to put the visitors on the powerplay with just over two minutes left. Rob Haselhurst went to the net front on the powerplay and tipped a Ben Breault shot past Smart for the 2-1 game winner.

The win was vital for the visitors to keep pace with the Ice and Bears, and Charlie Smart put in his second outstanding performance in a row against the Thunder to earn his team a point, which, statistically speaking, they were lucky to collect.

Canberra Brave 6-2 Melbourne Mustangs

If the Mustangs were to create a historic sweep of the Canberra Brave in the capital and sweep the season series, they would have to do so without their top scorer, Scott Timmins.

Timmins, the hat-trick hero from the previous night, sustained an upper body injury, and the player-coach swapped the skates for the clipboard. The first period ended 1-1, with Charlie York scoring for the home team before Ty Wishart levelled scores on the powerplay for the Mustangs.

Goals by Casey Kubara, Kai Miettinen, who was returning from suspension, and Austin Cangelosi (PPG) wrested the game in control of the Brave.

Kubara added his second of the game and 11th of the season in the third period, before Mike Giorgi, who was excellent all weekend for the Mustangs, scored on the powerplay against his former team to draw the scores to 5-2.

However, Lachlan Fahmy twisted the knife with his first goal of the season to complete the 6-2 win for the Brave. Brave goaltender Aleksi Toivonen has put together two excellent starts in a row, against the Bears and the Mustangs, saving 68 of 73 shots faced for a .932 save percentage.

The win puts the Brave on the same amount of points as the Lightning in second place in the conference, although the Lightning have two games in hand.

Sydney Bears 7-6 Melbourne Ice (OT)

It was the matchup of the round, in a round full of intriguing contests. The top two teams in the league facing off at Macquarie Ice Rink with the opportunity to put a dent in each other’s H Newman Reid minor premiership aspirations.

Adam Kadlec gave the hosts a 2-0 advantage, scoring even strength 3:46 into the period, and shorthanded 65 seconds later off a great pass by Lucas Herrmann. Joey Hughes responded shorthanded, taking advantage of a weird bounce off the side netting, and Roman Kraemer tied the game with just under a minute left in the period.

The Bears outshot the Ice 15-8 in the second period, largely due to Ellesse Carini earning a major penalty for boarding at the end of the first period which put the Bears on the powerplay for 4:29 of the second. However, the Ice outscored the Bears 2-1 in the period, taking a 4-3 lead.

Kraemer scored first for the Ice before Tomas Landa capitalised in the paint on the powerplay. Kraemer then completed his hat-trick on the powerplay. The goal was significant for Austin Albrecht, who collected his third point of the game on the play, making him the fastest player in AIHL history to 100 points, accomplishing the feat in his 27th game.

Kadlec completed his hat-trick for the Bears to level the scores 4-4, but Ellesse Carini scored against his former team 47 seconds later to put the Ice back in front 5-4.

Herrmann showed off his elite shot to draw the scores level again off a fine drop pass by Eaden, and Eaden scored his 11th of the season and fifth point of the game to give the Bears the lead for the first time since the opening period.

The Bears went to the powerplay shortly afterwards, and the Ice came out aggressively, scoring their second shorthanded goal of the game through Austin Albrecht.

Then, in overtime, Kenshin Hayashi did well to retain possession while waiting for a line change, Tomas Landa burned his man for speed against the wall in the neutral zone and created a two-on-one opportunity.

The Ice defenseman dropped to the ice to take away the pass, but Landa waited and slid the puck over to Brody Lindal who fired the puck into the yawning net. Lindal with the game winner against his former team, it was a fitting end to a spectacular contest.

The result leaves the Ice and Bears tied on 44 points at the top of the Hellyer Conference and League standings, although the Ice retain top spot having played one less game than their rivals.

Adelaide Adrenaline 6-2 Central Coast Rhinos

Although the Adrenaline got the win on Saturday, not too many teams in the AIHL will win games while scoring two goals when the league average is over four. The Adrenaline looked much better out of the gate as Daniel Chen scored shorthanded for his second goal of the season, and Josh Adkins scored on the powerplay to open up a 2-0 lead.

Kaden Elder scored for the hosts shorthanded in the second period to stretch the lead to 3-0, and Toth denied some good Rhinos chances to take the lead into the final change.

Robert Malloy scored early in the period on the man advantage to keep the Rhinos within reach at 3-1. But Elder responded with two unanswered goals, the first on the powerplay, before Rhinos import Danick Bouchard cut the lead to 5-2.

Any hopes of a comeback were snuffed out by Elder as he added his fourth of the contest and 10th of the season for the 6-2 final scoreline.

It was a huge weekend for the Adrenaline, who have been playing better than their record indicates. The win takes the Adrenaline to fourth in the conference, overtaking the now last placed Rhinos.

Adelaide is now six points out of the third and final playoff spot, occupied by the Brave, with five games in hand. However, the Adrenaline have a tough stretch of games coming up as they host the Perth Thunder and Melbourne Ice for double-headers over the next fortnight