Bears @ Mustangs [4-2 Loss]

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Fresh from their victory against the Melbourne Ice and reclaiming the Air Canada Cup the previous day, Sydney Bears backed up on Sunday June 26 to face the Melbourne Mustangs. Unlike the Bears/Ice matchups, this was the first time that the Bears and Mustangs had met in 2016.


The first goal of the first period came rather late, scored by Bears defenceman Brian Funes. This turned out to be the only scoring of the first period which featured lots of end to end action.


A couple of minutes into the second period, Bears scored again with Billy Cliff getting the puck over the goal line and a 2-0 lead. Looking to increase their lead, Bears conceded a goal shortly after, allowing the Mustangs to get onto the scoreboard for the first time.


Leading 2-1 at the start of the third period, Bears had every reason to be confident for the last period of the weekend. Looking like taking 5 out of 6 competition points home after the weekend was a real option at that point.

Mustangs tied the game 2-2 just after the halfway point of period 3 and another shootout was a possibility but this is not how it worked out. For the last 7 minutes of the game, there were a lot of penalties given against Bears players and officials. Amongst all the confusion, frustration and anger, Mustangs scored a powerplay goal, giving them a goal's lead (3-2) with 5.41 to play. 

After the Mustangs' go-ahead goal, Bears received a total of 81 penalty minutes and any chance of a comeback was gone with several controversial incidents including a Mustangs goal as time expired, officially awarded with a second remaining. A 4-2 loss under those circumstances was a sad way to end a Melbourne road trip. 

The Bears return home with the final Battle Of Sydney on Saturday July 2 against Sydney Ice Dogs at Penrith Ice Palace and a road trip to Newcastle the following day.


Story: Eric Brook
Photo: Tania Chalmers Photography