Caribou CBR Brave go top in the AIHL Rurak Conference

The Caribou CBR Brave have leap-frogged the Brisbane Lightning to claim top spot of the Rurak Conference with a perfect weekend of results.

The Brisbane Lightning flew into the nation’s capital this past weekend and were met with the cool crisp air of a fresh Canberra winter and a packed-out Phillip Ice Skating Centre full of boisterous Brave faithful for the first ever competitive encounters between the Lightning and the Brave.

On Saturday the noise level and game intensity were dialled up to max, with special teams and a strong finish securing Canberra the points. The Brave had been on point with devastating special team performance in the month of May and that carried over into the first weekend of June.

As the penalty minutes racked up for both teams, American flyer Austin Albrecht opened the scoring for the home team in the first period with a short-handed goal on the Lightning power play. Canadian defenceman, Cameron Marks, then doubled Canberra's lead by scoring another short-handed goal.

Early in the second, Brisbane staged a comeback to level the game two goals apiece but that just inspired the Brave to stay out of the penalty box and apply the attacking pressure once more. Newly minted Mightyroo, Andy Camenzind, stepped up and made his presence known in front of the net with two goals to restore the Brave’s lead by the end of the second period.



This set the stage for a dramatic third period and the intensity and spiciness lifted to the occasion. Eight goals and 41 penalty minutes later and the Brave came out on top of what ended up a goal-fest, nine goals to five, victory. It was fitting that team captain, Kai Miettinen, scored the final goal of the game with 42 seconds remaining on the clock, with the team’s hat-trick of short-handed goals.

The match finish was soured by a last second ugly boarding hit by Lightning defenceman Neil Pretorius that left Brave forward Mitch Henning on blood-stained ice. After a lengthy discussion between match officials Mitch Brown and Luke Power, Pretorius received his marching orders with a match penalty and suspension for the Sunday game.

On Sunday, the game was played with a lower intensity than the day before. This suited the Brave just fine as they were able to control the puck better and implement their passing game more effectively.

It took a while in the first period for either team to craft a good goalscoring opportunity but just when the Brave had, with Casey Kubara just about to unleash a shot on goal, his legs were taken out from underneath him, and the match officials awarded a penalty shot. Casey dusted himself off and stepped up to take the penalty shot. He zigged and zagged down the ice in what is best described as a dance with the goaltender to see who would make the decisive first move. Novysedlak flinched and stayed dead still as Casey came bearing down on him, providing the opportunity for Kubara to shoot the puck between his legs and into the net to put the Brave one-nil up.

The second period continued in a similar fashion but Brisbane import, Alexis Girard, levelled the scoreline for the visitors against the run of play and that seemed to fire up the Brave boys into action. Consecutive Lightning penalties were punished by the home team with Andy Camenzind and Carson Vance making sure the man advantage counted on the scoreboard. French-Canadian import, Félix Plouffe, then gave the Brave a healthy three goal lead right before the end of the second period, after capping off a well worked break-away move by Bayley Kubara and Austin Albrecht on the Lightning power play.

The Brave continued to control proceedings in the third period. Defenceman Mike Giorgi scored his first goal of the season, while Vance and Henning extended the Brave lead even further. Josh Labrie scored a consolation goal for Brisbane, but it was too little too late for the visitors, the Brave securing a comfortable seven goals to two win.

With clean sweep of the weekend, the Brave overtake the Lightning in the Rurak Conference standings and now sit top of the ladder, with a four-point lead. The Newcastle Northstars victory over Adelaide Adrenaline on Sunday means it is fast becoming a three-team race at the top of the Rurak Conference between the Brave, Lightning and Northstars.

The Caribou CBR Brave continue their run of consecutive weekend home games in Phillip next Sunday, 11 June 2023, against Hellyer Conference high-flyers, the Melbourne Mustangs. Another tantalising match-up between two of the best teams in the league.

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Game Summary:
SA Game 1 Final Score:  Caribou CBR Brave 9 - 5 Brisbane Lightning
SU Game 2 Final Score:  Caribou CBR Brave 7 - 2 Brisbane Lightning

Goal Scorers:
Game 1
- Caribou CBR Brave:  Austin Albrecht (x3), Cameron Marks, Andy Camenzind (x2), Charlie York, Casey Kubara, Kai Miettinen
- Brisbane Lightning:  Harley Anderson, Josh Labrie, Max Roth, Aaron Wanat, Will Clifford
 Game 2
- Caribou CBR Brave:  Casey Kubara, Andy Camenzind, Carson Vance (x2), Félix Plouffe, Mike Giorgi, Mitch Henning
- Brisbane Lightning:  Alexis Girard, Josh Labrie

Next Caribou CBR Brave game:
Sunday 11 June 2023: versus Melbourne Mustangs - Phillip Ice Skating Centre. Puck Drop: 4:45pm