Image: Alex Tetreault claims his first career shutout - by David Tate
The Caribou CBR Brave responded to their loss last weekend in the strongest possible way, defeating the Central Coast Rhinos 10-0.
As a gorgeous Canberra winters day gave way to a bitterly cold winters night, the Brave faithful descended on the Brave Cave in large numbers for a Sunday game vs the cellar dwellers. Gates opened a little earlier than normal, catching some of the members off-guard as they tried to quickly finish their pre-game drinks and food at Belluci’s across the road.
The stream or the game on AIHL.TV would be a paired back affair, after the team had reported a sizeable amount of their equipment, including the commentator’s mics, had been stolen. It was amazing that they got any stream up at all. For those watching at home, they would have to settle for game vision and ambient crowd noise.
The traveling Rhinos struggled to settle into the game early in the first period and the Brave took advantage of this by parking themselves in their offensive zone and peppering Andrew Masters in the Rhinos goals with shots. It became a matter of when not if the Brave would take the lead and after around 5 minutes of sustained pressure Canberra made the breakthrough through former captain Matt Harvey.
Any hope for a reprieve by the Rhinos players was short lived as the Brave were on the ice to prove a point and they did not let up applying the pressure. Casey Kubara and Austin Albrecht both scored before the end of the first to send both teams to the sheds at period break with the Brave well and truly on top, albeit the Rhinos did improve to get a few shots off themselves towards the end of the first, but Alex Tetreault stood strong in goals.
The second and third periods produced much of the same as the first. Overall, the Brave dominated the play, possession and ice position. The Rhinos were creating more chances themselves but not enough to get past a hot goaltender in Tetreault, he was on fire. Alex made some big saves in the second and third periods and looked like a man on a mission to secure a rare shutout for the Caribou CBR Brave. Sharpshooter Austin Albrecht completed his hat-trick, but the biggest goal cheer of the night came when local youngster Joey Maatouk scored the home team’s tenth and final goal with around 3 minutes left on the clock in the third period. The Cave erupted in noise and celebration. There was also special praise given by the fans for Ricki Miettinen, who assisted his second goal of the night for his first points of his fledgling career.
Upon the final siren sounding, the Brave had won comfortably, securing a 10-0 victory, and the players rushed over to Alex Tetreault to congratulate him on his maiden career shutout. A job well done and the team back on track leading into the final five game run-home of the regular season before Finals.
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Quotes:
Alex Tetreault (Caribou CBR Brave goaltender):
“My first shutout, it’s a special moment for sure, especially being at home in-front of family, friends and the Canberra community that have always been so supportive. A big shoutout goes to Aleksi Toivonen and goalie coach Peter Di Salvo, we’ve been putting in the work, day in and day out, without them, it simply wouldn’t be possible.”
Stu Philps (Caribou CBR Brave head coach):
“I was really proud of Tets getting the shutout on Sunday. Although it’s not a surprise, I get to see all the hard work Tets is doing every week with Mad Dog. When speaking of the shutout we also need to give credit to our defence too. Our defencemen were outstanding on Sunday, they were determined to make sure they assisted Tets in reaching his remarkable achievement.
We have a very competitive and proud group of players. No one likes to lose, but the right loss at the right time can completely refocus a team. The loss to Perth hit home pretty hard and was a huge motivator for us on Sunday.”
Steve Moeller (Caribou CBR Brave Chief Operating Officer):
“A very good all round performance from the team this past weekend. Congratulations to Alex Tetreault on his first AIHL Shutout - and to the individual efforts of Ricki Miettinen and Joey Maatouk, with all three players being named in out ‘Diamonds of the Game’.
The team are clearly focused on finishing off the regular season in the number one spot, with the ultimate goal of another Goodall Cup Championship at the end of the season.”
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For all media enquiries, please contact CBR Brave Media: media@cbrbrave.com.au.
Game Summary:
Final Score:
Caribou CBR Brave 10 - 0 Central Coast Rhinos
Goal Scorers:
Brave: Matt Harvey, Casey Kubara (x2) Austin Albrecht (x3), Tyler Kubara, Félix Plouffe, Carson Vance, Joey Maatouk
Rhinos: Nil.
Next Caribou CBR Brave games:
Saturday 29 July 2023: versus Newcastle Northstars – Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, Newcastle Puck Drop: 5:00pm