Battle Of Sydney 3 [4-3 SO Win]

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Sydney Bears came to Liverpool eager for a win against cross-town rival Sydney Ice Dogs on Saturday May 28. It was the third Battle Of Sydney and as always, the game was hard and fierce in front of a large crowd.

The Ice Dogs opened the scoring after 61 seconds, giving the home team the early 1-0 lead. Cameron Todd scored powerplay goals in periods 1 and 2 which equalised the scores on both occasions. Both goals were scored at close range.


The game was full of penalties by both teams with many players coming together at various stages with many periods of play with players in the penalty box. 


As the game came closer to a conclusion & tied 2-2, a big shot for the Bears turned into a breakaway goal for the Ice Dogs with just over 2 minutes remaining. With 91 seconds remaining and another loss looming, Richard Tesarik scored the equaliser late in period 3 which led to the second shootout in a row between the two teams. 


The shootout went to 4 rounds with new import Nic Kawasaki & Brent Vandenberg (game winning goal) successfully beating the Ice Dogs goal tender Charlie Smart. At the other end of the ice, Bears tender Anthony Kimlin was strong under pressure with only 1 shootout goal conceded.


Sydney Bears win 4-3 (shootout), their second shootout win of the year. The next day, the Bears head to Canberra to face CBR Brave. The last time that the Bears played in Canberra, the Bears won in a shootout.   



Story: Eric Brook
Photo: AIHL