Mustangs 6 @ Bears 8

The Sydney Bears hosted the Melbourne Mustangs at the Penrith Ice Palace on Saturday 8 August. Both teams needed the win to keep in contact with the 4th and final position of the AIHL Finals at the end of the month.

 

 

The last time the two teams met at the same venue in June, there was a 9 goal first period with NHL players watching on in what was a strange and bewildering period. The start of this game was strange and bewildering for another reason - a delayed referee.

 

 

After starting the game 28 minutes late and only the two linesmen on the ice, both teams took a little time to get into game mode. In the 5th minute, Bears import Tomas Landa was given a checking from behind penalty, giving the Mustangs a power play. 

 

 

Shorthanded, Cameron Todd went coast to coast in a solo effort before undressing Mustangs goaltender Fraser Carson to put the Bears on the scoreboard in what should be a nice addition to the Bears highlight reel.

 

 

With the late referee now on the ice soon after the Todd goal, the Mustangs scored twice in under 90 seconds.. Suddenly, the Mustangs were ahead 2-1.

 

 

Half a minute later, the Bears were on the scoreboard against with a goal to Bears forward Adrian Esposito to tie the scores 2-2. Another half a minute later, Joe Harcharik scored for the Bears to give the home team a 3-2 lead at the end of the first period.

 

 

On the scoreboard, it was all Bears in the second period even though it took them 12 minutes to register another goal.A running battle between Spencer Austin (Bears) and Jamie Bourke (Mustangs) lead to 4 on 4 hockey. Joe Harcharik took advantage of the extra room on the ice and scored all on his own, looking good for a natural hat trick. Further goals to Ales Padelek and Tomas Landa in the dying stages had the Bears leading 6-2 at the second intermission.

 

 

6 to be 2 became 7-2 Bears midway through the period with another highlight reel goal to bring up Joe Harcharik's hat trick. With no hats on the ice and a seemingly unbeatable lead, the tempo of the game changed  with 3 goals in 3 minutes to the Mustangs.and back in with a chance with the score at 7-5 Bears. 

 

 

With time running out for the visitors, goalie Fraser Carson was pulled for the extra attacker just after the 7th goal, 2.30 remaining. Sometimes the extra attacker option works and sometimes it benefits the opposition. For once, the empty net option favoured the Bears with Padelek nailing the puck in the back of the Carsonless net to give the Bears and their fans some breathing space. 

 

 

The scoring was not finished, though. With Carson back in net, Joey Hughes for the Mustangs scored with 40 seconds remaining to bring the margin back to 2 goals. Hughes and Bears goaltender Kamil Jarina would have a coming together along with Jamie Bourke and other players with 4 seconds to go. Hughes (roughing) & Jarina (leaving the crease) were the only penalties assessed and the clock wound down to a long awaited Bears win. 

 

 

The last Bears win was against the Sydney Ice Dogs on July 4 with coach Vlad Rubes later reporting mixed feelings in the dressing room after the game. "It's always good to win, especially a game you have to win. Tonight was a good win. The boys played well from the start. We scored nice goals in the first period. Overall, I think it a a good game from us for the first 2 periods. Towards the end, the boys started thinking about tomorrow, maybe." 

 

 

Was the coach concerned about the scoring in the last period? "When it was 6-2, I was fine. (When it was) 7-2 I was fine. When they (the Mustangs) started scoring, I was a bit worried, I have to admit. It was a careless 8 minutes and we just can't do that. The boys were a bit disappointed with losing the last period in the last 8 minutes." 

 

 

After the game, Mustangs Assistant Coach Michael Flaherty was happy with his team's fightback, describing the game as real playoffs hockey. He recognised that both teams are fighting for their season. The message from the benches was fairly consistent during the game despite the scoring frenzy. "I don't think we played poorly, the Bears played well. They took their chances and made their chances count and that's something we didn't do. Their goaltender came up with great saves at critical times."

 

 

The Bears host their last home game of the season against the Melbourne Ice on Sunday August 9 while the Mustangs head across town to face the Sydney Ice Dogs. 

 

 

With Saturday's results being favourable to the Bears, the Bears are now back in 6th place. They are a point behind the 5th place Adelaide Adrenaline and 6 points behind the 4th place CBR Brave. Meanwhile, the Mustangs have slipped back to 7th, 2 points behind the Bears.

 

 

Story by Eric Brook

Photo by Injected Ideas Photography