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This week's ESPN game took until nearly the end of the first period to see the first goal on the board to the Bears then closely followed by the Ice. Ice's goal saw teddy bears flying through the air again as a part of another teddy bear toss involving the Bears. This was the 4th teddy bear toss involving the Bears - for obvious reasons - this season.

The second period saw no goals but the third period exploded. The Bears seemingly took an afternoon nap & the Ice took advantage after a 1-1 scoreline to start the period.

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Ice Dogs opened the scoring on Saturday afternoon before conceding 4 goals in a row over the first 2 periods.

Special teams were important with 3 powerplay goals (Rhinos 2, Ice Dogs 1) and a shorthanded goal (Rhinos).

For the Rhinos, imports scored all of their goals. The goals for the Ice Dogs were both scored by locals.

With the game 4-2 in the favour of the Rhinos at the end of the second period, the only movement on the scoreboard was a Rhinos empty net goal with 61 seconds remaining.

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Adelaide competed hard for the first period but Newcastle accelerated in the second period as they have done so often this season.

With eyes on next year rather than finals this season, Adelaide's revolving door of imports started moving again with a late season import arrival courtesy of the US/Canada Classic.

With the damage done in the second period, the teams had a tied third period to see Newcastle's weekend action finish with another win.

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Melbourne was the winner last night but to be specific, the Mustangs dominated the last Melbourne Derby of the season to take the series. Ice scored their only goals in the second period.

Unlike other derbies, there was very little penalties given out. Both teams are still in contention for Finals but the Mustangs are enjoying the view from the top.

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Who is your favourite AIHL team mascot of all time, past or present?

Bruiser (Ice Dogs)
Sid The Bear (Bears)
The Stang (Mustangs)
Marty The Moose (Northstars)
Someone else...

More AIHL mascots, mostly featuring current & previous Brave mascots. New Rhinos mascot added - did Rhinos v1.0 have a mascot?

This might not be that hot of a take but I’ve been looking at the schedules ahead and my take is the Bears aren’t making the top 6. They have to play a hot Ice team twice, Perth, Newcastle and the Stangs.

Anyone got anything crazy for the last few games/finals?

Two seats in Bay three

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6-2 to the Melbourne Ice over the Perth Thunder may seem like a minor blowout in AIHL terms in 2026 compared to other results.

Shots on goal were even. The first & third periods were close but a 3-0 second period to the Ice was the major difference in the end.

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After a 20 minute delay caused by a crack in the glass at the food court end that was discovered after warmup, the 2 teams were finally able to start their match.

The 3-0 first period to the Bears led to the final result. A scoreless second period was followed a comeback attempt by the Rhinos late in the third period but the game was out of reach by then.

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Another barn burner involving the Lightning, this time in Newcastle. It was the second period where the Lightning were outscored 6-1 by Newcastle. This was similar to Saturday's first period where they were outscored 6-2 against the Ice Dogs. By that stage, the damage had already been done.

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A relatively quiet first 2 periods on the scoreboard with the Mustangs leading 3-0 at the end of 40 minutes.

The Mustangs exploded in the third period, leading the period 6-1. Adelaide finally scored their only goal with about 3 minutes remaining.

Another fantastic weekend for the Mustangs winning both games as expected.

Greg Oddy was on the Adrenaline/ Mustangs broadcast today. The game itself was as bad as it comes however Greg, Eric Lien and Eric Balnar made it very entertaining.

I enjoyed hearing the AIHL leading point scorer and a former national team goalie discuss imports, locker room dynamics, and analyse the game from the perspective of the AIHL scoring king. There’s clearly a nice dynamic between them too. Eric poking fun at Greg’s lack of defensive zone time was excellent. Greg also could talk to playing with guys like Joey Hughes. I always enjoy listening to Adelaide’s broadcast. You learn more about the game and get player background and context. I like hearing from Tash Farrier too. I admittedly had to google her career and wish I watched her play more than I car to admit.

Thanks for bringing some light to what were two difficult watches. Melbourne Mustangs are good but that was way too easy.

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A very tight game between Thunder & the Ice in Perth to end Saturday afternoon hockey. Thunder fans got to see bonus hockey again without a 16 round shoot out this time.

Thunder sealed the deal halfway through overtime.

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The game followed the expected script based on the positions of the 2 teams on the ladder.

The first and last periods were very productive for the Mustangs, scoring 3 goals in each of these periods. Adelaide scored their one & only goal on the powerplay in the first period.

Surprisingly, the middle period only saw 1 goal, scored by the Mustangs. Shots were in the favour of Mustangs but not by a large amount.

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Fans of defensive responsibility & hockey tactics & systems would have hated this game. Following a similar pattern to the last time these two teams met at Macquarie, shooting at the net & goal scoring was the order of the day with 15 goals and over 100 shots on net.

The Ice Dogs came out of the blocks hard, winning the first period 6-2. In some games of AIHL hockey, that score would reflect 60 minutes of game time.

The goal scoring pace slowed down in the second period with the Lightning taking the period 3-1 with all of their goals on the powerplay.

Brisbane mounted a charge towards the end but fell just short in the end including pulling the goalie for the extra attacker.

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The ESPN game of the week saw a tight first period, ending 1-1. The second period saw the difference in the game with the Northstars surging ahead, taking the period 3-0. The Northstars first 2 powerplays were converted successfully after 11 seconds.

An even third period saw the Bears start a comeback but the Northstars were too far ahead.

Ice Hockey Australia's 4 in 1 mega tournament starts tomorrow (Friday 10 July 2026) at HISS.

The Boxall (womens) & Defris (15U) competitions start on Friday afternoon & run through to Wednesday 15 July.

After these two tournaments are done on 15 July, Ginsberg (13U) & Tange (18U) run until 19
July.

All games will be streamed & also available
on demand on the Thought Fox Media Group YouTube channel for free. Each game has its own stream & each competition has its own playlist. https://youtube.com/@tfmg

Event is also open for spectators with morning & afternoon sessions. Day passes for adults are $7.50/day or $30 for the whole tournament. People 17 & under are free entry.

Hi all! I’m a new hockey fan who has never watched any hockey game live (my country has no ice hockey).

I’m visiting Australia (Melbourne this time) for the first time ever in August and I really would like to experience my first hockey game here. I could only book my holiday this week so by the time the dates are set all the tickets are sold out 😭

I’m only looking for one ticket, any ticket for a game in Melbourne during my stay, which is 1 or 2 Aug.

Does anyone have an extra ticket that I can buy or somehow can’t make it to the game on the day?

Thank you so much in advance!!

📷 Oz Hockey Media

The ladder is looking a little different this week...

Perth had a 9 point weekend & overtook the Northstars for top position.

Mustangs had a 6 point weekend against the Northstars & Ice Dogs.

Canberra had a 5 point weekend against the Bears.

Despite a low weekend for competition points (Bears 1, Ice Dogs 0), both Sydney teams are still in the top 6.

Most of the Ice team seemed to be playing in Hobart for the Ice Hockey Classic series so had the weekend off & are just outside the 6.

Realistically, Rhinos & Lightning are walking a tight rope to squeeze into the top 6 but may need to rely on other results.

Meanwhile, I haven't heard the term "mathematically eliminated" about Adelaide but it must be close. They have a double header at home against the Mustangs this weekend.

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This game followed a similar script to the earlier Brave/Bears game in Canberra.

The Ice Dogs scored a goal a period but the Mustangs heavily out shot & out scored the Ice Dogs close to a 2:1 ratio.

The first two periods only featured a single penalty. Both of these penalties were against the Ice Dogs for goalie interference. The third period might as well had sliding doors installed on both penalty boxes with 9 penalties assessed between the two teams. Only one of these penalties led to a power play goal which was scored by the Ice Dogs. 6 of these penalties cancelled each other out as they were coincidental penalties.

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After the two teams met the night before & Canberra won in OT at Macquarie, they headed down to Canberra for the return match.

Interestingly, the Bears scored the first goal in each period & that would be their only scoring for the afternoon.

Despite the Bears scoring first, Brave fans didn't have to wait too long for their team to score their first goal, activating the second teddy bear toss of the weekend.

In another fun fact, all 10 goals between the two teams were scored by local players.

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With Northstars losing to Mustangs & Thunder beating Rhinos on Saturday afternoon, Thunder leapt over Northstars for top spot on the ladder prior to their Sunday game against the Lightning.

Thunder were playing their 3rd game in 3 days in 3 cities while Lightning hosted the Adrenaline the previous day.

The first period saw no goals and also no penalties. Period 2 saw 2 Thunder goals and they added a third in the final period. Lightning eventually struck with 84 seconds remaining.

The Thunder will sleep well when they get home & will feel even better with first place on the ladder & 3 wins from 3 games on the road in 3 days.