Game Report: CBR Brave versus Sydney Bears - 27 May 2023

It was heartbreak for the Caribou CBR Brave in their clash against fierce rivals the Sydney Bears on Saturday evening at the Phillip Ice Skating Centre.

After going ahead in the Second Period, the Brave were unable to defend their lead and went down 3 goals to 2 in a fast and skilful display of elite Ice Hockey.

The Brave had payback on their mind after the two teams’ early-season clash. That encounter in Sydney was a tough and physical game, where the Bears took advantage of the absences of many of the Brave’s playing group to inflict a heavy loss on the team from Canberra.

The first minutes of the game gave an indication that it would be a fast one, with both teams having good shots on goal in the early exchanges.

The Brave took the first Penalty of the game mid-way through the Period when Mike Giorgi was called for Interference, but excellent up-ice pressure on the Penalty Kill kept the Bears trapped in their own zone and unable to threaten the Brave’s net.

The Brave had many good chances to score in the First Period, but the Bears defenders filled the shooting lanes in front of their Goaltender and blocked many scoring chances with stick and body.

In particular, Brave Import Forward Austin Albrecht - playing his first home game for the team - showcased his speed and caused the Bears defence to scramble to counter his attacking rushes.

The First Period ended with the Bears slightly ahead in the Shots on Goal, but with the Brave keeping Bears and Australian National Team Goaltender Anthony Kimlin busy by forcing him to make quality saves.

The pace of the game didn’t let up in the Second Period - with both teams having excellent scoring chances early.

It was the Bears who hit the scoreboard first when, at the half-way point of the Period, a handling error behind the Brave’s goal led to a turnover and a shot by Kenshin Hayashi that beat Brave Goaltender Aleksi Toivonen.

The Brave pushed hard to reply and had their best chance of the game with a 4-on-1 rush - but this was rebuffed by a quality save from Bears Goaltender Kimlin.

The Brave tied the scores in the sixteenth minute of the Period, when Austin Albrecht intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, sped up the ice and unleashed a wrist-shot which gave Bears Goaltender Kimlin no chance for a save.

Just over two minutes later the Brave took the lead, when Matt Harvey pounced on a rebound in front of goal and found the back of the net.

The Brave went into the Second Intermission leading 2 goals to 1. They had many excellent chances and out-shot the League leaders for the Period (16-9). 

On the resumption of the game in the Third Period, the Bears immediately tied the score. 

From the Face Off, a series of crisp passes found Tommy Steven, who beat Brave Goaltender Aleksi Toivonen one-on-one. From puck drop to back of the net, the tying goal took 8 seconds.

Minutes later, when the Brave’s Mike Giorgi was assessed a double-minor (4 minute) penalty, the Brave went on an extended Penalty Kill. The Kill also brought huge short-handed scoring chances for the Brave. In particular, shots by Felix Plouffe and Andy Camenzind required quality saves from Bears Goaltender Kimlin to keep the scores knotted at 2 Goals. 

When the Bears’ Tyerell Clare took his team’s first Penalty in the fourteenth minute of the Final Period, the Brave looked forward to their first Power Play of the Game. 

With time winding down on the Brave’s man-advantage, Bears Forward Tomas Landa snatched up the puck at his Blue Line and set off down the Ice. With only the Brave Goaltender to beat, he calmly slotted the puck into the back of the net for a Short-handed goal.

Although the Brave pushed hard in the dying stages of the game, their efforts were thwarted by Bears Goaltender Kimlin - and the game ended in a 3-goals-to-2 win for the Visitors.

The Brave out-shot the Bears 41 to 31 but found it difficult to convert their chances. In addition, being on the wrong side of a 5-Penalties-to-1 count resulted in the Brave spending time having to defend while being a man down. 

The win extends the Bears’ lead at the top of the League Standings to four points over the Melbourne Mustangs. 

The Brave currently sit in second place in their Conference and they host the Conference-leading Brisbane Lightning for a double-header next weekend at the Phillip Ice Skating Centre.

For Brave Forward Jackson Gallagher, this was everything the team had expected from a clash with the Bears.

“They’re always a tough team. They’re brutal in the corners and they just love to battle - to be on you (defensively) as quick as possible. It’s always tough but it gets you going.”

“We always come out to play, to win. In this case it just wasn’t our night. We started a little slow, and it was a grind,” said Gallagher. “And some times you just lose those little battles - and that ends up in a loss.”

Looking ahead to next weekend’s games against the Lightning, Gallagher says: “We played Brisbane a couple of times in the pre-season and we started well. As long as we shut them down, we’ll have no worries.”

With Import players arriving, both teams will look very different to those pre-season clashes - where the Brave came out on top in each occasion.

For Jackson and the team, the message is to keep it simple and not change what has been a successful formula.

“I reckon we’ll have the same approach as tonight. The Brisbane Lightning are a good team, but if we get shots on Net we will win the game.”

Caribou CBR Brave 2 - Sydney Bears 3
Goal Scorers:
- Caribou CBR Brave:  Austin Albrecht, Matt Harvey
- Sydney Bears:  Kenshin Hayashi, Thomas Steven, Tomas Landa