2023 in review

• 2023 record – 2^nd in Hellyer Conference, 4^th overall, Cup winners (17W – 2OTW – 0OTL – 7L)

2023 could hardly have gone better for the Mustangs – to state the very obvious! A strong regular season, capped by a whole-weekend clean sheet by Liam Hughes leading to the second Goodall Cup for the club. Driven by an outstanding import group, backed-up ably by solid local depth, the Mustangs didn’t have it all their own way through the season, but were the best team when it counted most.

Figure 1: Melbourne Mustangs key stats in 2023 AIHL Season

It’s not exactly going out on a limb to suggest the Mustangs had the best set of imports in the AIHL in 2023, led by league MVP Scott Timmins and fellow NHL-alum Ty Wishart, they averaged 2.6 points per game. At the other end of the ice, Liam Hughes was Finals MVP in a canter, and with signs that at least some of these imports are remaining, the Mustangs will remain a team to beat.

Table 1: Melbourne Mustangs top 5 scorers in 2023

Table 2: Melbourne Mustangs 2023 goalie stats

History

Over the past decade, the Mustangs have been consistently challenging for a place in the Finals, even if not always making it. Consistently either just in the Finals, or just missing out, they have a strong record once making the showpiece weekend and their two Goodall Cups in that period are as many as any team, and their overall record reflects this – picking up 52.9% of points on offer.

A strength of the Mustangs has long been their record on the road as well – they have the biggest differential between home percentage and away percentage (and are one of only three teams with a stronger record away than at home). They score less goals, and concede more – but they find a way to get it done, which is a testament to the team.

Special teams have also been a happy hunting ground over the past decade – with only Newcastle having a better record than the Mustangs can boast, with an average Powerplay of 26.1% and Penalty Kill of 81.6%.

When it comes down to their record by opponent, excluding the Lightning and Rhinos (who the Mustangs have perfect records in two games each against), they have a winning record against all but three teams. No surprises that those three teams are the Brave, Northstars and the down-corridor rivals, the Ice, all of whom have had strong records over the past decade (or most of it, in the case of the Ice). One achievement the Mustangs have is they hold the best record of any team against the Perth Thunder, including a winning record in Perth.

The tables below show the top scorers for the Mustangs, goalie performances for the current goalies, as well as some prominent goalies over the past few years, and the top scorers against the Mustangs.

Table 3: Melbourne Mustangs top 10 scorers, 2013 to 2023

Table 4: Melbourne Mustangs key goalie stats, 2013 to 2023

*Per game calculations based on 60 minutes, not 50.

Table 5: Top 10 scorers against Melbourne Mustangs, 2013 to 2023

New players/imports

While the Mustangs haven’t made any announcements regarding their roster yet, it would surprise nobody at all to see some familiar import faces turn out in orange again – so expect the Mustangs to put forward another very strong collection of imports.

Player to watch

Most of the Mustangs roster are very experienced, but one of the up-and-coming players is defenseman Max Astafiyev. He got some opportunities to pair with experienced D-men in 2023, and another year of growth should have him more physically ready for the AIHL.

Keys for 2024

In large part, the key for the Mustangs is to keep doing what they’re doing! They have a strong lineup – both imports and locals. With at least some of the imports likely to stick around, replacing any that don’t will be important – especially if they opt for an import goaltender. Liam Hughes was huge for the Mustangs, and if he doesn’t return the pressure will be on for whoever steps between the pipes in 2024.

Along with those headline parts, it wouldn’t hurt the Mustangs at all to continue to develop some younger local players. Their local core has been good for a long time, but they are not young – of their top 12 forwards, only Thomas Flack and Brad Apps are under 30, with the blueline looking a little less experienced – thanks to Michael McMahon and Jaxson Lane sneaking in under 30, and the youth of Astafiyev and Evan Khroustalev. Further development from some young locals would help assist the strong production from the imports.

Given the strength of their imports, this local production isn’t critical for the Mustangs – but it’s never a bad thing to build that local strength.