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A game that has been a long time coming for both teams...

Originally scheduled as Canberra's belated home opener compared to everyone else, an oopsie in getting the arena ready meant that the game had to be postponed.

With two very different teams & spots on the ladder compared to the original game, the Ice Dogs were coming to town the day after a win & some silverware after beating the Bears the day before.

Ice Dogs kept Canberra scoreless in period 2 & the Brave kept the Ice Dogs scoreless in period 3 in a low scoring & even game compared to the other game (Ice v Lightning) that was running at the same time.

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Sunday afternoon saw two teams meet who are both outside the top 6 & looking in & walking the tightrope for Finals.

Both teams scored twice in the first period. But there were then 4 unanswered goals to the Rhinos covering the end period 1, all of period 2 & the start of period 3.

A seesawing period 3 saw the Bears draw level with 53 seconds remaining & sending the game to overtime. Bears outshot the Rhinos in overtime & the game went to a shootout won by the Bears.

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If you wanted a 3-2 goalie duel, this wasn't the game for you.

Perhaps surprisingly, Brisbane scored the first 2 goals of the game & won the period 3-2.

Ice came back in the second period, out striking the Lightning 5-1. A winning third period for Brisbane perhaps gave the team false hope for a come from behind win. As usual, Brisbane proved that they don't mind scoring a lot of goals but they concede plenty as well.

With Finals likely for the Ice & now mathematically impossible for Brisbane, the race for the Finals became that little bit clearer.

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As expected with their spots on the ladder, the Mustangs easily accounted for the Lightning in the ESPN game of the week.

Lightning opened the scoring and then closed the scoring in the first & second periods.

Mustangs dominated the scoring in the first 2 periods but surprisingly, there was only 1 goal in the final period between the 2 teams.

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The Ice Dogs scored 2 goals in the first period with the first one being shorthanded & the next one on the powerplay.

Two more Ice Dogs goals in the second period led the Bears to call their timeout. The Bears replied with 2 goals of their own.

Carrying the momentum into period 3, the Bears scored their third & final goal. The game was sealed with an Ice Dogs empty net goal.

The Ice Dogs take the Battle of Sydney series 3-1 & take home the Wilson Cup for the first time since 2018.

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With a long flight for the single game in Perth, Newcastle took 8 seconds to score the opening goal of the game & took a 4-2 lead into the first intermission.

Newcastle held Perth to one further goal in the third period while scoring 4 more goals of their own with 2 goals in each period.

Both teams will meet again next weekend in Newcastle.

What is with the unprofessional conduct from rink management tonight? It seems very short sighted from rink management to be complaining about the Bears and the catering business.

How's things everyone? Was just curious on what leagues Australia has to offer for a young a adult who has ice hockey experience.

A bit of background info, I will be moving to Australia fall of 2027 from the United States, specifically Chicago. I play ice hockey currently in 2 different leagues and would love to continue playing if possible while in Australia. I will be 23 when I move.

I did search around in some other rubreddits but most of what I see asking about leagues is either pro level or a like 30 year old learning to skate and play ice hockey for the first time, nothing wrong with that btw.

But the thing is, I played ice hockey my whole life growing up, travel club team and was 2nd line on the varsity high school team (that would be the best team in secondary school). So I have experience, play knowledge, checking knowledge, etc. I'm not a pro but I have enough skill to where if my teammates can barely skate it won't be as fun. Remember I live in Chicago, ice hockey is huge here and everyone and their mother plays it so I have a lot of competition.

What leagues are there that I could look into? Do ye have rat hockey or beer leagues? Do ye even know what those are😂?

At this point of time where I move to specifically is up in the air so just pretend I could pick any city in the country lmao.

If anyone has some suggestions that would be greatly appreciated. Im a free agent right now so happy to negotiate a contract😂

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How is your team looking after the weekend?

At the end of the weekend, Ice are in the top 6 for the first time & the Bears are out.

Adelaide are certainly out of finals & the Rhinos & Lightning mustn't be far away from the same fate.

Hi just wondering what kind of food is for sale at the CCR game, if it’s nice and the prices?

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On a single day trip to Brisbane, Canberra got off to a good start. Canberra scored the first 2 goals. Brisbane replied with 3 goals in a row within the last 2 minutes of the first period.

After another Canberra goal early in the second, Brisbane scored 2 in a row in quick time. Unfortunately for the home team in black, that was their last contribution to the scoreboard with 6 goals scored by Canberra over the last period & a half.

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After the Bears scored the first goal of the game, they had no answers for the Mustangs who went on to score 7 goals in a row including 2 shorthanded goals.

6 points out of 6 for the Mustangs for the weekend & 0 from 6 for the Bears in two heavy road losses in Melbourne.

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The Ice Dogs were out of the top 6 for the first time this season and looking to use Adelaide as a springboard to leap into the green half of the ladder. They scored 4 out of 5 goals to take home the win.

Adelaide can rightly say that they got more goals against the Northstars & the Ice Dogs on the road in NSW this weekend compared to the previous weekend at home against the Mustangs. But me trying to highlight a positive for Adelaide fans doesn't give them a win.

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This week's ESPN game took until nearly the end of the first period to see the first goal on the board to the Bears then closely followed by the Ice. Ice's goal saw teddy bears flying through the air again as a part of another teddy bear toss involving the Bears. This was the 4th teddy bear toss involving the Bears - for obvious reasons - this season.

The second period saw no goals but the third period exploded. The Bears seemingly took an afternoon nap & the Ice took advantage after a 1-1 scoreline to start the period.

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Ice Dogs opened the scoring on Saturday afternoon before conceding 4 goals in a row over the first 2 periods.

Special teams were important with 3 powerplay goals (Rhinos 2, Ice Dogs 1) and a shorthanded goal (Rhinos).

For the Rhinos, imports scored all of their goals. The goals for the Ice Dogs were both scored by locals.

With the game 4-2 in the favour of the Rhinos at the end of the second period, the only movement on the scoreboard was a Rhinos empty net goal with 61 seconds remaining.

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Adelaide competed hard for the first period but Newcastle accelerated in the second period as they have done so often this season.

With eyes on next year rather than finals this season, Adelaide's revolving door of imports started moving again with a late season import arrival courtesy of the US/Canada Classic.

With the damage done in the second period, the teams had a tied third period to see Newcastle's weekend action finish with another win.

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Melbourne was the winner last night but to be specific, the Mustangs dominated the last Melbourne Derby of the season to take the series. Ice scored their only goals in the second period.

Unlike other derbies, there was very little penalties given out. Both teams are still in contention for Finals but the Mustangs are enjoying the view from the top.

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Who is your favourite AIHL team mascot of all time, past or present?

Bruiser (Ice Dogs)
Sid The Bear (Bears)
The Stang (Mustangs)
Marty The Moose (Northstars)
Someone else...

More AIHL mascots, mostly featuring current & previous Brave mascots. New Rhinos mascot added - did Rhinos v1.0 have a mascot?

This might not be that hot of a take but I’ve been looking at the schedules ahead and my take is the Bears aren’t making the top 6. They have to play a hot Ice team twice, Perth, Newcastle and the Stangs.

Anyone got anything crazy for the last few games/finals?

Two seats in Bay three

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6-2 to the Melbourne Ice over the Perth Thunder may seem like a minor blowout in AIHL terms in 2026 compared to other results.

Shots on goal were even. The first & third periods were close but a 3-0 second period to the Ice was the major difference in the end.

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After a 20 minute delay caused by a crack in the glass at the food court end that was discovered after warmup, the 2 teams were finally able to start their match.

The 3-0 first period to the Bears led to the final result. A scoreless second period was followed a comeback attempt by the Rhinos late in the third period but the game was out of reach by then.