PREVIEW: Caribou CBR Brave versus Sydney Ice Dogs (20 May 2023)

Game Preview - Saturday May 20
Caribou CBR Brave versus Sydney Ice Dogs

Location:  Macquarie Ice Rink
Puck Drop:  5:00pm

Caribou CBR Brave:  7GP / 4W / 1L / 1OTW / 1OTL
Last Game:  Saturday 13 May; Caribou CBR Brave 9 def Central Coast Rhinos 1 (Erina Ice Arena)

Sydney Ice Dogs:  6GP / 2W / 3L / 0OTW / 1OTL
Last Game:  Saturday 13 May; Sydney Ice Dogs 5 def Adelaide Adrenaline 4 (IceArena, Adelaide)

The Caribou CBR Brave head up the Hume Highway Saturday to take on the Sydney Ice Dogs at the Macquarie Ice Arena - with Puck Drop scheduled for 5:00pm.

With the Brave and the Ice Dogs in different Conferences, this will be the second - and final - time that the two teams clash in the 2023 Regular Season.

The two teams had previously faced off in the Brave’s first home game for Season 2023 - a heart-stopping, classic game that went to Overtime, with Captain Kai Miettinen netting the Game Winning Goal.

Claiming points against a near-full strength opponent was crucial for the Brave in their first encounter in April. They had dressed only 15 players for that game - with absences due to the World Championships and Imports not having arrived. 

Joey Maatouk and Chris Stoikos scoring the Second Period goals for the Home team. The Ice Dogs registered two goals of their own in the Second - to Grant Toulmin and Brandon Egli. The Game Winning Goal was scored in the first minute of Overtime.

The Brave currently sit second in the Rurak Conference - three points behind the equal League-leading Brisbane Lightning (with two games in hand on the Lightning). The Ice Dogs are fourth in the Hellyer Conference.

The Brave are nearly at full strength now, and are starting to hit their stride. In their first game for the Brave against the Central Coast, new Imports Austin Albrecht (three Assists) and Carson Vance (one Assist) had excellent contributions - despite being straight off the Plane from the Northern Hemisphere. In that game, Felix Plouffe and Alternate Captain Bayley Kubara had 2 goals each.

In addition to leading Scorer Chris Stoikos (11 Points), returning Brave Legend Matt Harvey currently has 9 Points for the Season - and Captain Kai Miettinen and Import Felix Plouffe sit on 7 Points each.

In net, the Brave present a potent Goaltending duo. Aleksi Toivonen has started 5 games for the Season, and leads the League in both Save Percentage (.929) and Goals Against Average (2.04). Alex Tetreault has started 3 games and has a Save Percentage of .908 - putting him in fifth place in the League.

With recent arrivals Albrecht and Vance having the chance to train with the team through the week, this game will be the perfect opportunity to see what Lines have been assembled by the Brave - and how the team is coming together in their Goodall Cup defence.

For the Ice Dogs, Forward Strat Allen was named AIHL Player of the Week. He played a leading role in his team’s victory over the Adelaide Adrenaline last Saturday with two Goals and an Assist in a 5-goals-to-4 result.

In that game, the Ice Dogs out-shot the Adrenaline 47 to 29. In situations with the man advantage, the Ice Dogs unable to connect on their 2 Power Play opportunities. Being undermanned, they were successful in Killing only 2 of the 4 Adrenaline Power Play opportunities.

Their scoring is currently led by Grant Toulmin - who has tallied 11 Points for the Season so far. Strat Allen and Brandon Egli each currently have 9 Points.

The Ice Dogs have used both Jakob Doornbos (2 wins from 6 games) and Sean Ellison (4 games) in Net - and both currently possess Save Percentages under .900. Whoever is first choice will be sure to face many shots from the Brave’s stacked offence - led by 2022 AIHL Scoring Leader Casey Kubara and featuring many dangerous scoring options.

This Saturday evening is the Sydney Ice Dogs Defence Force Night - with free entry for ADF Members. In addition, the Ice Dogs will be wearing special edition Camouflage Jerseys - which will be auctioned off after the Game.

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See the game on AIHL TV (https://aihl.tv) - or head along to Caribou Kingston to watch the game live with other Brave fans!