Image: Lachlan Fahmy celebrating his first goal of the 2023 AIHL Season - by Ashley Hayes
In a slow-paced game, the Brave hit cruise control and fly away to victory on the road in Perth, defeating the Thunder 7-4.
We’ve got used to the Brave team flying down the ice in high intensity games against the other top teams in the league in the last few weeks, but this weekend the Brave jumped on the long flight over to Perth and both teams seemed stuck in second gear all game long.
The sold-out game had an air of anxiety about it in the arena as the Thunder fans seemed unable to fully come to the belief that their team could challenge the in-form Canberrans. This despite two back-to-back wins over then top of the league Bears in Sydney over the previous two weekends.
The ice at the Perth Ice Arena is notoriously slow, which helps slow the games down and suites the Thunder’s style of play. The Brave like to play a higher tempo, with speed from deep the main weapon of choice to break down opposition. But given the slow-ice, the Brave too settled into a slower pace. When Perth’s head coach/player Ben Breault took the game’s first penalty for hooking, the Brave went on the power play and made the man advantage count with Austin Albrecht scoring his 11th goal of the season. The arena was dead silent.
After the opening goal, the game settled back into a familiar pattern, with neither team able to create any meaningful goal scoring opportunities, until Conner Jean latched onto a rare Perth breakaway move and slotted home from close range to level the game with four minutes to go in the first period. As the goal horn rang out over the arena, the crowd unleashed a tidal wave of teddy bears onto the ice in a memorable moment to raise money, and teddy bears, for Wheelchairs for Kids.
With the scores locked at 1-1, Stu Philips must have had a massive first intermission team talk because the Brave came out a different team in the second period. Whereas in the first period there was lots of neutral ice play, with neither team really taking a hold of the game, the second period saw the Brave begin an attacking zone grind. Carson Vance restored the Brave lead within three minutes of the restart. Kieren Webster levelled once more for the Thunder but that was the last we saw of the Thunder in the second period. Félix Plouffe, Albrecht, Lachlan Fahmy, with his first Brave goal, and Casey Kubara all scored for the CBR Brave to open up a considerable four goal lead into the second intermission.
Image: Tyler Kubara winning the faceoff against Perth's Jakob Ruck - by Cassandra Edwards
It did not feel like the Thunder could come back in the game and make it interesting in the third period, but a pair of goals to Jean and Lodge did get the crowd going and brought the game back into a two-goal affair. The Thunder pulled their goaltender to look for two more goals, but Bayley Kubara was on target from the other end of the rink to score a short-handed empty net goal to secure the result for the visitors.
In truth the final 7-4 score-line flattered the Thunder, given the Brave dominance on the ice, but the win and the three points were secured by the Brave on the road against one of the league heavyweights. A perfect weekend in Western Australia rounds out a flawless month of June with six wins from six games. Time to go see a quokka or the lovely Margaret River region.
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Quotes:
Lachlan Fahmy (Caribou CBR Brave defenceman):
“Travelling with the team is a great time for all the boys, even if Perth is a long tiring trip. Away days gives us a good chance to bond more as a team. It felt great to score my first goal for the Brave. The team is building trust together and, in our process, if we continue this momentum, we move ever closer to the Cup.”
Stu Philps (Caribou CBR Brave head coach):
“It was a solid team performance after a long road trip. Perth is a tough team to beat on their home ice. To come away with 3 points is a fantastic result.”
Steve Moeller (Caribou CBR Brave Chief Operating Officer):
“A good road trip to Perth for the team to bring home the win. Many more hours on planes than on the ice playing, but that’s all part of the journey.”
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For all media enquiries, please contact CBR Brave Media: media@cbrbrave.com.au.
Game Summary:
Final Score: Caribou CBR Brave 7 – 4 Perth Thunder
Goal Scorers:
Caribou CBR Brave: Austin Albrecht (x2), Lachlan Fahmy, Bayley Kubara, Casey Kubara Félix Plouffe, Carson Vance
Perth Thunder: Conner Jean (x2), Kieren Webster, Lynden Lodge
Next Caribou CBR Brave games:
Saturday 1 July 2023: versus Brisbane Lightning – IceWorld Boondall, Brisbane Puck Drop: 5:00pm
Sunday 2 July 2023: versus Brisbane Lightning – IceWorld Boondall, Brisbane Puck Drop: 4:30pm