Bears 2 @ Mustangs 4

The Bears continued their Melbourne road trip on Sunday June 28 with the Sunday game against the Melbourne Mustangs at the Icehouse. With 3 points secured after the previous day's win against the Melbourne Ice, the Bears were looking to take the afternoon's 3 points on offer home with them and possibly secure 3rd spot on the competition ladder. Meanwhile, the Mustangs have a big gap between themselves in 7th and CBR Brave in 6th.

The last time these two teams met at Penrith Ice Palace earlier in June, the Mustangs got off to a flying start scoring 3 goals in the first 3 minutes. Both teams contributed to a 9 goal first period before the goal scoring slowed down and the Bears won 7-6. The mood was certainly a lot difference in the Icehouse with the Bears playing for 3rd place and the Mustangs playing to save their season.

The game started with a rush before new Australian permanent resident Paddy Ward spent time in the penalty box after a tripping call. The Bears survived their shorthanded period however the Mustangs took against of a Kamil Jarina rebound to open the scoring just after Ward's penalty expired.

Not long after, it was the Bears' turn to head on the powerplay which ended with a top shelf goal to Ward, leveling the score. The scoring ended for the period but not before a 5 on 3 powerplay for the Bears and another trip to the penalty box for Ward, literally. 

The second period featured hard and fast action. It was fierce action however the only addition to the scoresheet during the period was a slashing call against Bear Spencer Austin early in the period.. Once again, the Bears were enjoying the glass at the Icehouse while both goalies were standing strong against their attackers.

With the score still 1-1 at the start of the 3rd period despite several shots hitting iron, the first scorer for the period would be very important. 2 goals within 3 minutes midway through the period to the Mustangs seemingly had the Bears down and out. However, the Bears of 2015 show self-bearlief and do not give up without a fight. Both teams had recent hard games against the Melbourne Ice (Mustangs on Thursday, Bears on Saturday) which may have emptied the players' fuel tanks somewhat.

Both teams increased their intensity with the Mustangs looking to protect their 3-1 lead in the final stages of the period. Both teams had not spent time in the penalty box in the second period (with the exception of Spencer Austin) and had not been penalised in the 3rd period.

The Bears struck back with 3.20 remaining to close the gap to a goal (3-2 Mustangs). Paddy Ward was in the action again with skipper Michael Schlamp sending the puck into the back of the net. With time to go, there was a chance for the Bears to come back and level the scores. However, the Mustangs had other ideas and sealed the win 70 seconds after the Schlamp goal with another goal where import Vadim Virjassov beat the Bears defence all by himself. 

A 2 goal margin for the Bears to claw back from was too much in the end with the Mustangs beating the Bears 4-2. The mood in the Bears camp was understandably less happy than the previous day. Bears forward Saxon Air described the mood in the dressing room as slightly sombre while assistant coach Ron Kuprowsky echoed Air's assessment.

“It was a hard fought game,” Kuprowsky said. “We didn’t get the result that we wanted so it’s a bit disappointing. The win yesterday kind of gets soured in the loss today but we’ll bounce back. We’ll work hard on Tuesday and Thursday and get our game back ready for next weekend.”

“We have to play solid against any team,” Kuprowsky said. “It just shows tonight that if you come out flat and don’t capitalise on your opportunities then you just don’t come away with the points.”

There was one positive that Bears fans have been looking forward to, the return of Tomas Landa after injury. “He’s excellent,” Kuprowsky said. “He’s hitting people, shooting, scoring and doing everything you want him to do. Once Cam [Todd] and Lee [Turner] get back [from the Inline World Championships], it means we’re firing on all cylinders and away we go.”

The Bears return home to commence a lighter schedule in July starting with the 3rd Battle of Sydney at Penrith against the Sydney Ice Dogs. The Mustangs are aiming to continue to walk the finals tightrope with a home double header against CBR Brave. Meanwhile, the Bears are currently in 5th position, a point behind the Melbourne Ice and Adelaide Adrenaline.

Story by Eric Brook
Photo by Mosquito Byte