The CBR Brave have beaten the Newcastle Northstars 6 goals to 1 in their Australian Ice Hockey League Semi Final at the O’Brien Icehouse in Melbourne on Friday evening. After a hard-fought and even First Period, the Brave took control and scored six unanswered goals to secure their place in the Goodall Cup Final.
In a pre-game presentation, CBR Brave Alternate Captain Casey Kubara was awarded the League MVP Trophy. It has been a stellar year for Kubara – leading the League in Points through the Regular Season and being one of the key contributors to his team’s success.
The opening exchanges of the game set the tone for the First Period – with fast, end-to-end Hockey punctuated by the big hits we expected from this top-of-the-table clash.
In the seventh minute, the Brave were called for a Penalty and the Northstars responded to the man-advantage – taking the lead from a shot by Robert Malloy.
Immediately, the Brave were back on the Penalty Kill – and that became a 5-on-3 man advantage to the Northstars when Defenceman Garret Cockerill was called for a Boarding penalty.
The Brave successfully killed both penalties and went on the attack. At the end of a Power Play the Brave hit the scoreboard, with an accurate short-range strike from Forward Mitch Henning – which drew a huge roar from the travelling Brave fans.
The Brave went to the first intermission with the score at 1 goal apiece. After successfully weathering early attacks from the Northstars, the Brave looked to be finding their feet in this important game.
The Second Period was an entirely different affair with the Brave on the attack from the opening whistle – and this paid dividends almost immediately, when veteran Brave Centreman Joey Hughes found the back of the net to put the Brave up by one goal.
Ten minutes later, Hughes doubled the Brave’s advantage as he seized on an error by Newcastle Goaltender Charlie Smart – and slotted home another goal.
The Brave were in control of the play and had several excellent chances rebuffed before the end of the period. They went into the Second Intermission with the score at 3 goals to 1.
The Third Period saw some big saves for Brave Goaltender Alex Tetreault – but the team controlled most of the play and pressed home their advantage.
A short-range strike in the sixth minute by Wehebe Darge opened the scoring for the Final Period. The Brave added another goal in the thirteenth minute – when a well-worked play saw a pass hit its mark in front of the net and Forward Tyler Kubara made no mistake with the short-range shot.
The icing on the cake was (fittingly) provided by Brave Captain Kai Miettinen, who found the back of the net in the fifteenth minute to thunderous applause from the huge crowd of Brave faithful in the stands.
This win sends the CBR Brave into the Final on Sunday, where they will play the winner of today’s Preliminary Final between the Sydney Bears – who beat the Melbourne Mustangs in the Minor Semi Final – and the Newcastle Northstars.
At stake in Sunday’s game is the Goodall Cup – one of the oldest Trophies in the world of Ice Hockey. With unfinished business after the last full AIHL season, the Brave are firmly focused on what needs to be done to bring the Cup back to Canberra.
Game Summary:
Final Score: CBR Brave 6 – Newcastle Northstars 1
Goal Scorers:
CBR Brave: Joey Hughes (2); Mitch Henning, Wehebe Darge, Tyler Kubara, Kai Miettinen (1)
Newcastle Northstars: Robert Malloy (1)
Next CBR Brave game: Australian Ice Hockey League Grand Final, Sunday 4 September 2pm at O’Brien Icehouse, Docklands, Melbourne.
Get the latest news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.
