Week 17 recap: Canberra, Newcastle fight for 2nd place

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There’s now just two weeks left in this enthralling AIHL season, and the 17^th weekend of action provided fans with more thrilling action that continues to shake up the playoff picture.

Here are the key moments from the four games this weekend.



Brave complete weekend sweep at home, bolster top two hopes

Canberra have come from the clouds at the back end of this season, suddenly finding themselves inside the crucial top two with two weeks to go, meaning if things remain, they’ll automatically advance to the semi-finals.

Less than a month ago, Brave fans would have taken a top four seed, let alone top two, but this quick ascension has been achieved from winning 11 of their last 12 games.

The 10^th win of this run was secured on Saturday, where the Brave held off a valiant Central Coast Rhinos side looking to play spoiler in the final month of the season. Canberra wildly outshot the Rhinos, 53-32, but an immense .925 save percentage effort from Central Coast goaltender Anand Oberoi kept the Rhinos in with a chance.

Ultimately, it was Canberra’s second period that opened the ice, drilling three goals from 21 shots on net. It was an even effort for Canberra, with zero skaters notching more than one point; Mitchell Henning, Nils Carnback, Bray Crowder and Ricki Miettinen all scored one goal each.

Sunday tested the Brave more, being required to comeback from a three-goal deficit to overcome a strong Newcastle side, who have had similar success to Canberra in recent weeks.

However, a late goal in the second period from Jacob Carey gave the Brave a huge bout of momentum, which they’d use to score four consecutive goals in eight minutes in the third period to pull them to a 7-4 victory.

It was Jesperi Viikila who led the charge, finishing the match with a goal and five assists, four of those coming in the exhilarating final third.



Adrenaline split weekend road trip as miracle playoff appearance looks unlikely

The Adelaide Adrenaline, while still mathematically a chance to play in the post-season, will need to accomplish a perfect run home to sneak in after dropping one of two crucial games this weekend in New South Wales.

The Adrenaline fell short to the ballistic Newcastle offense on Saturday, 6-4, despite taking a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. Marcel McGuiness registered the first multi-goal effort of his AIHL career, netting two goals in the opening period for Adelaide as they continue to land the first punch in games this season.

However, Adelaide’s drop off after 20 minutes was seen again as Newcastle responded three goals within eight minutes to tie the contest a four goals apiece entering the final period. Evgenii Skachkov once again elevated his play in the clutch, assisting on the Northstars two final period snipes to secure an important win for Newcastle, now sitting one point behind the third-seeded Thunder.

Newcastle effectively won this game on the powerplay, scoring twice from five attempts, including the game-winning goal by Francis Drolet. It’s a huge confidence boost entering the post-season in this area, as the club currently ranks fifth in the league for powerplay goals scored this season.

However, the Adrenaline truly came to life on Sunday against Central Coast. It was a back-and-forth affair with several lead changes, but Adelaide pulled through in a stellar final period, unleashing two goals in a minute before scoring on the powerplay shortly after.

While Central Coast were in the fight, once again in large part to Anand Oberoi in net, their defensive shortcomings would sting, conceding five goals in the final frame.

Adelaide’s Romans Nekludovs stood up in the clutch moments, rattling in the final two goals to secure an 8-5 win. He’d join Josh Adkins as the two main contributors for the Adrenaline, each contributing four points in the barnburner.

Though the Rhinos season won’t continue into the last week of August, their fans will remain buoyed by the emergence of Dmitri Kuleshov this season. He posted a goal and three assists in this contest, taking his season totals to 11 goals and 18 assists.