Preview: Bears @ Mustangs

Sydney Bears return to Melbourne on 16/17 July with one mission: 6 points for the weekend. Their first opponent on Saturday at the O'Brien Group Arena are the Melbourne Mustangs.

Leading into the weekend, both teams are out of the Top 4 but are pushing hard to catch up to 4th place CBR Brave on 31 points. Mustangs are on 26 points from 19 games (8-10-1-0) in 5th place. Bears are in 6th place with 22 points from 18 games (3-7-5-3). 

This game will be the third time that the two teams have met in 2016. 3 weeks ago, the Bears lost 4-2 to the Mustangs in Melbourne after leading 2-0. Mustangs scored 3 unanswered goals to win the game. Last weekend, Bears lost again to the Mustangs in a tight 4-3 game at Penrith Ice Palace. 

In other games last weekend, Bears came from 2-0 down to force Adelaide Adrenaline to a shooutout at Penrith Ice Palace on Sunday. Adrenaline won in the shootout which gave the Bears a single point out of 2 games for the weekend. Across town at Liverpool, Mustangs defeated the Sydney Ice Dogs 8-3 in a goalfest.

Simply, Bears need to keep winning in regulation time to keep up with the Top 4. Defeating the Mustangs at home would be a good start. On Sunday, Bears take on Melbourne Ice to conclude their regulation season visits to Melbourne.

Leading the way for the Bears in scoring are Tomas Landa (10 goals, 15 assists, 25 points) & Cameron Todd (10 goals, 6 assists, 16 points). Todd also leads the way in powerplay goals with 5. Landa and Brent Vandenberg (5 goals, 14 assists, 19 points) are the only active players on the roster to average more than a point per game. In net, Anthony Kimlin (6-8) is conceding on average 3.02 games per game with a save percentage of .909.

Bears @ Mustangs live stream (video)

Story: Eric Brook

Photo: Tania Chalmers Photography