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Image: Cameron Marks - by David Tate

The Caribou CBR Brave are back in action this weekend, hosting the Melbourne Mustangs at the Brave Cave on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Rurak Conference Leading Caribou CBR Brave are coming off a high scoring double header weekend against the Brisbane Lightning which saw a combined 23 goals in 120 minutes of play.
 
That’s a goal every 5.2 minutes for any of you like-minded number nerds out there!
 
The Mustangs are coming into the weekend after edging out the Sydney Ice Dogs 9-8 in bonus hockey. The ‘Stangs’ however, have a rough road trip to Newcastle before entering the formidable Brave Cave.

Keys to the Game

Flashing the Leather!

This one will be a battle of the goalies, no doubt. Caribou CBR Brave coach Stu Philps has a tough decision to make in who stands toe to toe with import goalie Liam Hughes from the Mustangs. Hughes enters the weekend with the fourth best save percentage, 0.920, of goalies in the league. One of the goalies holding a better save percentage than Hughes is none other than Aleksi Toivonen, narrowly skating through with at .922.
 
Who will blink first?

Fire in the hole!

The Mustangs boast three of the top six scorers in the league in Chris Lawrence, Ty Wishart and league leader Scott Timmins. The three have combined for an astounding 92 points in 11 games. Outside of these three, there is plenty of talent on the Mustangs roster, but not nearly as much firepower. Can the Caribou CBR Brave shut down the Mustangs offensive trio?
 
The Caribou CBR Brave on the other hand have shown that they can produce from the top of the roster all the way through. The only player yet to pick up a point is young Ricki Miettinen, but he has shown heart and grit in the heat of battle. His time will come!
 
Whose offense will reign supreme in the Brave Cave?
 

Head to Head

The last time these two teams met, the only way to get any sort of result was through a shootout. Are we destined to see the same again in the Brave Cave?
 
The Mustangs come to the Brave Cave boasting a 7-2-2-0 record and a high-flying offense, racking up 67 goals and 113 assists for a staggering total of 180 points.
 
The combined goalie statistics show a save percentage of 0.900 and Goals Against Average (GAA) of just 2.97.
 
The Caribou CBR Brave on the other hand welcome the challenge with a 7-2-1-1 record and offense that is starting to find that killer instinct that the Brave have become known for. The Caribou CBR Brave come into the weekend with an offense that has combined for 50 goals and 76 assists and 126 total points.
 
The young Caribou CBR Brave dynamic goalie duo of Alex Tetreault and Aleksi Toivonen have combined for a GAA of 2.80 and a save percentage of .910.


Image: Alex Tetreault - by David Tate

The REAL Canberra Show!

The Melbourne Mustangs duo of Scott Timmons and Ty Wishart brings a little touch of the NHL to the Brave Cave with both having been drafted to the Florida Panthers and the San Jose Sharks respectively.
 
Ty Wishart, a native of Belleville, Ontario, Canada, was picked by the Sharks at number 16 in the first round of the 2006 NHL draft and spent the ‘08-’09 season with the Tampa Bay Lighting where he played five games and picked up an assist. Wishart then spent the ‘10-’11 and ‘11-’12 seasons with the New York Islanders where he played in 21 games and picked up a goal and four more assists.
 
Scott Timmons, out of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, was drafted at number 165 in round six of the 2009 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers. Timmons spent the ‘10-’11 and ‘11-’12 seasons with the Panthers, playing in 24 games and picking up a goal in his first season.
 
The Caribou CBR Brave are not without their share of outstanding talent however, boasting a vast array of experience from the ECHL (tier three US league) to NCAA (US College) and across the pond to the Ligue Magnus (top tier French League).
 
This is sure to be a high scoring weekend that you do not want to miss!
 
#AlwaysBrave #WeAreCBR #Brave2k23

The details

Tickets: Caribou CBR Brave v Melbourne Mustangs
When: Sunday, 11 June 2023
Where: The Brave Cave (Phillip Ice Skating Centre) – 1 Irving Street, Phillip ACT
Cost: Tickets start from $15