Bears @ Ice [4-1 Loss]

Sydney Bears could not complete their 6 point weekend in Melbourne, going down 4-1 against the Melbourne Ice on Sunday 17 July at O'Brien Group Arena. However, the 4-1 scoreline does not reflect the way the game went.

With the Ice peppering the Bears'net, the first goal of the game went to the Bears with a highlight reel breakaway goal from Nic Kawasaki while the team were shorthanded midway during period 1.

In period 2, the Ice scored a goal and had 2 others disallowed. While the Bears stepped up the shots on goal, Ice were doubling these totals. Good chances to score, especially for the Bears, were hard to come by. 

3 unanswered goals in period 3 by the Ice killed the game for the Bears after the game was tied 1-1 at the start of the period. The last two Ice powerplay goals in the last 90 seconds inflated the final margin to 4-1. Despite the scoreline, the Bears worked really hard with only 1 goal to show for their efforts. Bears goalie Anthony Kimlin had a lot of shots on him with 55 registered shots on goal. Meanwhile, his Ice counterpart only had 22 shots on him.

In addition to the high shot count, the Bears did not have a single powerplay opportunity during the game while they conceded 4 powerplays.

Bears continue their quest for the AIHL Finals against Perth Thunder on Saturday 23 July against Perth Thunder at Penrith Ice Palace.   

Story: Eric Brook

Photo: Richard Costello