AUSTRALIA – Defending champions Adelaide Adrenaline open with shoot out win against Sydney Ice Dogs whilst Canberra Knights avenge Saturday’s defeat to Gold Coast Blue Tongues with 6-4 win.
Current Goodall Cup holders Adelaide Adrenaline raised their championship banner to the roof infront of a packed home crowd before getting started in their opening game for 2010 against Sydney Ice Dogs.
Ice Dogs were without their import Derek Campbell, suspended following his Saturday night fight against Melbourne Ice. Fights that occur in the last 10 minutes of the third period are assessed a match penalty in the AIHL. However, the Dogs took the game to the champions and after an equal first period, Adrenaline defenceman Nick Clark put the champions ahead with a shot deflecting off an Ice Dog skate, a lead that was doubled just before the break with 18 year old Australian international Wehebe Darge slotting home for his second point of the evening.
However, the Ice Dogs were not done yet and fought back second period, finding the net via Brenton Tripp, an Australian Under 20 international playing his first AIHL year. It took the Ice Dogs until late in the third period when imported Americans Matt Monaghan and Andrew di Cristoforo combined to level the game and take it to overtime.
No decider could be found in overtime, so it was down to Finnish import Sami Mantere fresh from sitting a 10 minute misconduct earlier in the game to fire past Jimmy Herbert in the Ice Dogs goal and secure the extra point for the 2009 AIHL champions.
Up in Queensland, Canberra Knights were lining up for the second of their away double header against the Gold Coast Blue Tongues, this time played at Arcadia Ridge Ice World to another AIHL packed house.
Reeling from a 6-5 defeat the night before at IceLand, Canberra came out a determined side looking to find a way past former Knight Luke Fiveash in the Blue Tongues goal, who defected up the coast for the 2010 season.
It looked like the Knights would head back to the Capital pointless when Blue Tongues youngster Jack Connor slotted home from a Dallas Cortanzo pass, whilst Cortanzo who is quickly becoming a fan favourite on the Gold Coast kept the Knights at bay with a series of crowd-pleasing checks.
A determined Knights side came out flying in the second, with 22 year old Canadian MJHL player Garrett Delaquis and American Sean Scarborough both finding a away past Fiveash, before Brisbane native Alex Boyd tied it up at two. Knights once again rallied, and Scarborough and Delaquis once again combined as Delaquis registered his second marker of the evening. All set to go in level at the break, Dallas Cortanzo popped up again for the Blue Tongues to level the scores as he tries to hunt down Brian Bales’ lead in the AIHL scoring charts.
However, the Blue Tongues, looking tired playing on the larger ice at their second home, failed to take advantage in the third period despite going ahead though a second Alex Boyd goal. A marvellous individual performance from Garrett Delaquis gave the former MJHL Southeast Blades right wing a natural hatrick third period and 5 goals for the evening, sealing a 6-4 win for the Canberra Knights.
That win is enough for the Knights to overhaul both the Melbourne Ice and Newcastle North Stars and top the AIHL after 3 games, with the North Stars having a game in hand, whilst after just a point from their opening weekend the Ice Dogs slip to bottom of the AIHL.
Whilst in the scoring charts, Newcastle North Stars’ Brian Bales, a University of Anchorage-Alaska player during the 2009-10 season, leads the scoring charts ahead of Garrett Delaquis of the Canberra Knights and Vladimir Rubes of Sydney Bears.
Contact the author; phil.andrews@prohockeynews.com
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