Brisbane Lightning defeated the Newcastle Northstars 5-4 on Saturday night in overtime in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). Taking the first two of three points of the weekend in their bid for a playoff position on the Rurak Standings.
On Sunday night, the Northstars turned the tables, defeating the Lightning 5-1. They took home the second three points for a total of four, securing their number one spot in the conference.
Saturday’s game had Julian Fodor and Batu Gendunov open the scoring for Brisbane, with the home team leading 2-0 at the end of the first intermission.
Beau Taylor and Francis Drolet would equalise the game in the second period, and Sacha Rapchuk would get the home crowd on their feet, giving the Lightning a 3-2 lead going into the second intermission.
Arum Rapchuk would score next for the Lightning, extending their lead out to 4-2. Newcastle’s Ethan Hawes responded halfway through the period to get the visitors closer.
The excitement came in the final minute of the period, with Newcastle pulling Inoue from the net for six skaters. At 26 seconds left in the game, Hawes struck again to equalise the game and take it to overtime.
On Sunday night, Northstars assistant coach Dave Ferrari spoke with Hockey Hype Australia and shared, “Ethan Hawes continues to be one of our best, and he has worked his way onto that top powerplay unit. His two goals last night were great, and he had another great game today.”
Chance Adrian became the hero for Brisbane, securing the game-winning goal for the Lightning.
Lighting head coach Terry Kiliwnik spoke about standout players for the weekend: “Curtis Meger made some key saves when we had some breakdowns, and he pretty much saved us, so he deserves a lot of credit for that win. It’s good to know you’ve got a guy like that between the pipes that’s going to come up big.”
Alternate captain Mitchell Dyck spoke with Hockey Hype Australia on Sunday night about the weekend’s match-up and shared, “I think the biggest thing we can take away is that we got two points against the top team in our conference, so I think it sends a little bit of a message to the league that when we’re on our game, we can compete with anyone.”
“It’s encouraging for us going into the second half with a playoff push,” continued Dyck, “because it’s becoming a pretty tight race for the last playoff spot in our conference.”
Powerplay Sunday
Special teams were on display during Sunday’s contest, with each team scoring all six goals during a powerplay.
“Our guys really bounced back [from Saturday’s loss], and our powerplay was clicking tonight,” said Northstars assistant captain Francis Drolet.
Kiliwnik reflected on the special team’s performance for the lightning, stating, “It’d be nice to get our powerplay percentage going up a bit higher, so that’s something we’ll be working on.”
Newcastle came out fighting from the drop of the puck, with Daniel Berno putting the visitors ahead 1-0 at the first intermission.
Chance Adrian scored early in the second period for Brisbane, but a Newcastle goal scored by Beau Taylor would keep the Northstars in a 2-1 lead at the second intermission.
“Novi [Nicholas Novysedlak] faced a lot of special teams time today, so he did well in that respect,” stated Kiliwnik, “it’s always tough when you’re facing five on three, but he battled out there hard.”
“We’ve got some great guys like Chance, who is a great addition to the team,” Kiliwnik continued, “he’s given us some offence and a lot of good defensive zone play as well.”
In the final period, three unanswered goals from Beau Taylor, Drew Robson – his first as a Northstar, and Alexander Yuill would seal the 5-1 victory in the third period.
“We’ve seen this group of guys really grow while our other guys have been out, and Charlie [Smart], sitting cold yesterday, came out with the team and had a great response for Brisbane, and both goalies continue to complement each other really well,” shared Ferrari.
“We’re sticking to the game plan,” Drolet began, “with everything Kev [Kevin Noble] puts on the board and our videos. We had a few chances we were missing, so if we can bury [the puck] a little bit more, clean up the D zone, that will help for sure.”
Lightning still fighting
Kiliwnik reflected on the weekend’s performance, sharing, “I think defensively, we played a lot better this weekend. Special teams really played a role in today’s game, and yesterday, we did fairly well in that department, too.”
“I think we can always improve in all areas,” Kiliwnik continued, “Newcastle moved the puck really well, and it stretched us out at times, and our guys were keeping up, but defensive coverage is something we’re always looking to improve on.”
“We’ve got a lot of young guys on the team, including guys like Batu [Gendunov], who’s a big guy and plays his heart out every game. He’s just been an outstanding addition to the team this year, and Mitch Dyck, who’s got to be one of the top Ds in the league, and I could go on and on about our guys.”
“It’s great to see our development; they’re coming along and only going to get better.”
Dyck shared the same sentiment as the coach: “We’ve got a really good group of guys, so I think we can just take away that we’re all going to band together, come out of this slump, and continue improving throughout the year.”
It was an exciting weekend of hockey for the home team and the travelling fans in the building to watch these two teams compete.
The Newcastle Northstars will travel to play against Canberra Brave on Saturday, 29th June, and will play the Brisbane Lightning at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium on Sunday, 30th June.
Brisbane Lightning will play the Central Coast Rhinos on Saturday, June 29th, before heading to Hunter Ice Skating Stadium on Sunday.
For more stories like this as well as other news and analysis from the AIHL, please check out Hockey Hype Australia’s AIHL News section.
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