Bears 3 @ Brave 6

For the third time in 2015, the Bears travelled to Canberra to take on the CBR Brave. With the series split 1-1 between the two teams and being equal on 30 points each on the competition ladder, the game would be very important. The winner of the game would be in clear 4th position while the loser would slip to 6th behind an inactive Adelaide Adrenaline.

 

 

If the match was not important enough, the game would also be a rare Fox Sports Game Of The Week in Canberra. In addition, the coaching and playing ranks of the Brave were thrown a curveball midweek as goaltender Josh Unice was promoted to the Head Coach position for the rest of the year.

 

 

In front of the usual ravenous capacity crowd in Canberra, the Brave came out strong. Keen to impress their new coach, the locals were at home on their small rink. After a couple of minutes play, Bears forward Joe Harcharik was to spend quality time in the penalty box because of a ruled check from behind. This offence results in an automatic 2 minute minor penalty and a 10 minute misconduct penalty.

 

 

With one of the Bears' major weapons off the ice, the Sydneysiders had to rely on their other forwards in Harcharik's absence for most of the period. Instead, the Bears spent most of the time chasing the puck with goaltender Kamil Jarina and the defence having plenty of work to do. The hits were fierce and the temperature was rising on the ice.

 

 

A Bears powerplay turned bad 6 minutes into the period with the Brave opening the scoring with a shorthanded goal. With Harcharik still off the ice at the tail end of his misconduct penalty and the defence still under pressure, the Brave added to their tally with 73 seconds remaining in the period.

 

 

Down 2-0 during much of the second period, the Bears survived wave after wave of attack while they were finally able to apply some sustained pressure of their own at the other end of the ice. With 4.15 remaining, the pressure was finally too much and the locals added to their tally of goals. Despite the score being 3-0, it could have been a lot worse without Jarina's efforts.

 

 

What would happen next would be heavily debated at the time and after the game. It is sure to feature on some highlight reels. Depending on your point of view, what you actually saw and the team you support would see divided opinions. Either you #bearlieve that Jarina was harshly dealt with for doing his job in net and was simply going for the puck in yet another hectic save or you believed that he was auditioning for a role in the WWE. Ultimately the decision of the zebra striped shirt led to a tripping call against Jarina with Luke Zvonieck serving the penalty on his behalf.

 

 

With Jarina's penalty half served, the Brave scored their second goal affected by penalties. Zvonieck left the penalty box and Spencer Austin entered it after expressing his frustration to the officials. This earned the double goal scorer from the previous game a 10 minute misconduct penalty and he saw out the rest of the period in the dressing room.

 

 

Down 4-0 in the shadow of the second intermission, Ales Padelek celebrated the arrival of his new #93 jersey and the highlight of the game for the Bears with a goal with 64 seconds remaining. Padelek's point scoring streak now extends to 10 games including his hat trick from the previous game in Canberra. Taking 28 minutes to get onto the scoreboard was less than ideal for the Bears especially when the Brave had 4 goals in the game to date.

 

 

20 minutes remained on the clock for the start of the 3rd period. Would the Bears come back from behind or would the Brave continue to blow the Bears off the rink in front of the new coach?

 

 

 

The Brave would add 2 more goals in the third period before the Bears hit back with 2 goals of their own. Lee Turner was making his return to the Bears ranks after the 2015 IIHF World Inline Championships along with Cameron Todd and had literally flown in for the game. Two goals in 12 seconds in the 16th minutes to Turner gave the Bears some hope, bringing the margin back to 4 goals with 4 minutes remaining. 

 

 

Jarina was not quite finished for the afternoon in the dying minutes as he fought for the Bears as usual. Wandering around the net took a new meaning with the goalie leaving the net and stopping the puck right near the blue line on the Brave's attacking left wing and skating away with puck in glove. This would mean another 2 minute penalty for #87 (served by Captain Michael Schlamp) for a delay of game penalty - the second strange delay of game penalty of the game. Earlier, Steven Adams was assessed for a delay of game after a puck flew high above the un-netted Bears bench. It was one of many frustrations for the Bears of the afternoon.

 

 

 

With the Bears losing 6-3 to the Brave, the Brave climb to 4th place while the Bears slide to 6th. Both teams meet at Penrith Ice Palace for their next game with the Bears keen to climb the ladder again as they continue their charge towards the finals.  

 

 

 

Story by Eric Brook

Additional reporting by Karl Bala

Photo by Paul Furness Photography