Game Report: CBR Brave versus Sydney Bears - 23 April 2023

In Sunday Australian Ice Hockey League action, the Caribou CBR Brave have ended their double-header weekend with a loss to the Sydney Bears at the Macquarie Ice Rink in Sydney.

Still missing players on National Duties and awaiting the arrival of their Import players for the Season, winning against a near-full strength Sydney Bears on the larger Ice Rink in Sydney was always going to be a difficult task - and the final score of 8 goals to 2 told the story of a mainly one-sided game.

By the end of the First Period, the Bears had scored 3 goals - to Ellesse Carini and 2 to Ryan Annesley. They had generated 14 shots on goal to only 7 for the Brave. 

The Bears scored another 3 goals in the Second Period - to Noah Moncrieff and 2 to Thomas Steven - before the Brave hit to scoresheet late in play, when a rebound from the Bears Goaltender ended up with Joey Maatouk, who calmly slotted the puck past Defenders into the Net.

The Brave added a second goal in the Final Period. Returning Veteran Matt Harvey weaved the puck through traffic and found a charging Mitch Henning, who chipped the puck into the net over the Goaltender’s shoulder.

The Bears added 2 goals of their own in the Final Period, to Tyerell Clare and Thomas Steven - the final goal bringing up a hat trick for Steven in the game.

Although this was a loss for the Brave, it has served to give valuable experience to players who have not had opportunities for ice time in Regular Season Games.

Next weekend the team travels to Melbourne, where they play the Melbourne Ice Saturday at 5pm and the Melbourne Mustangs Sunday at 2pm.

With both Melbourne teams having played 2 games - the Mustangs undefeated and the Ice splitting their games - this is sure to be a test for the Caribou CBR Brave.

But with reinforcements arriving for the team this week, the defending Goodall Cup champions look to be in good shape for the rest of the Season.

Game Summary:
Final Score:  Caribou CBR Brave 2 - Sydney Bears 8

Goal Scorers:
- Caribou CBR Brave:  Joey Maatouk, Mitch Henning
- Sydney Bears:  Thomas Steven (3), Ryan Annesley (2), Ellesse Carini, Noah Moncrieff, Tyerell Clare