In the second game of the Sydney double-header, the CBR Brave fell to a one-goal defeat by the Sydney Bears - losing 5 goals to 4 at the Macquarie Ice Rink on Sunday evening.

Much like their first meeting for 2022 at the Brave Cave, the Bears came out firing from the opening whistle. The Bears piled on the pressure, with much of the first 10 minutes of the match being played in their attacking zone and Brave Goaltender Alex Tetreault working overtime to defend many attacks.

During that time, the Brave took two penalties and it was in the closing moments of the second that Alexandre Gauthier opened the scoring for the Bears.

The Brave were making chances to score but none of those were successful and the Bears doubled their lead with five minutes to go in the Period, with Alexandre Gauthier netting his second goal for the game.

The tale of the First Period was one of defence - with the Bears besting the Brave both on the scoresheet 2 goals to nil and also in the shot count 6 attempts to 5. The Bears made two scores out of net-front chances and the Brave could not convert the breakaways that they had made for themselves.

From the opening whistle of the Second Period, the Brave showed renewed effort. Casey Kubara opened the scoring for the visitors in the first minute, with a beautifully worked strike from the wing which beat Bears Goaltender Glen Forbes-White glove-side and smacked into the top corner of his net. Barely a minute and a half later, Wehebe Darge levelled the scores at 2 goals apiece with a short-range shot from the front of the Bears net.

The Brave were seconds away from killing a fifth-minute Penalty when the Bears took the lead again, after a strike from the hash marks was tipped in by Tim Newmark. This made the score 3 goals to 2.

There followed periods of up-and-back Hockey, with both sides pressing for a goal which would give them the advantage of momentum going into the Final Period. It was Brave newcomer Matt Marasco who was to provide the tying goal - with a long-range shot that sent teammates both on and off the ice into raptures. This was Marasco’s first goal in a Brave jersey and was scored at a crucial time in the game. The score at the Second Intermission was 3 goals each.

The first goal of the Final Period would be critical, and the Brave had their first chance in the opening ten seconds. It was to be the Bears who would score first and break the tie, after an Icing call was denied on a long pass by the Bears and Tomas Landa put the puck into the back of the net.

After being unable to score on their own Power Play opportunity, the Brave gave up consecutive penalties and in the moments following the end of the second penalty the Bears struck for a fifth time. This time it was Michael Poirier scoring for the Home side, adding the extra goal to make the deficit for the Brave 2 goals.

In the remaining seven minutes, the Brave pushed hard and created many chances but could not cut the lead. Coach Stu Philps called his Time Out and pulled the Goaltender in favour of an extra attacker. This initially paid dividends, with Brave Captain Kai Miettinen snapping a short-range shot past the Bears Goaltender and halving the deficit. Sadly, a tying goal would not come and the Final whistle brought a 5 goals to 4 win to the Sydney Bears.

The CBR Brave will be looking to take a win back from the Bears this coming Saturday - June 11 - at the Brave Cave (the Phillip Swimming and Ice Skating Centre). Puck Drop will be 5:30pm.

Goals
CBR Brave:  Casey Kubara, Wehebe Darge, Matt Marasco, Kai Miettinen (1)
Sydney Bears:  Alexandre Gauthier (2); Tim Newmark, Tomas Landa, Michel Poirier (1)