An undermanned CBR Brave have kicked off their 2023 season and Goodall Cup defence with a win against the Central Coast Rhinos at Erina Ice Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The Central Coast Rhinos are returning to the AIHL for their first season since 2012 – and suffered a 17-goals-to-nil loss in their first game of the season against the Brisbane Lightning on Saturday. 

With the Brave sporting a very short list for this game and the Rhinos adding players after their defeat, the team from Erina were looking for a far better showing against the defending champions.

The early stages of the game were even – with both sides having chances in attack. 

The first score of the game came in the seventh minute – when Kai Miettinen made no mistake with a shot which made its way from a number of sticks to the unmarked Brave captain.

The Brave doubled their lead when Canadian Chris Stoikos – making his second appearance for the Brave – put a shot on net which dribbled through the goaltender and over the line.

The Brave had other chances to score but were unable to add to their tally, and they went into the first break with a 2-0 lead.

The second period brought an early power play for the Rhinos and they capitalised on their chance. During their man advantage, they netted goals to David-James Jeremy and import Joakim Erdugan to tie up the scores.

As the second period progressed, the game became scrappy and this led to both teams taking penalties. Opportunities to score came – and it was the Brave who broke the tie.

With the Brave in attack, they took possession from a face off. Defenceman Nick Christensen skated to space and calmly shot the puck into the net.

This ended the scoring for the period – with the Brave taking the 3-2 lead into the second intermission.

Early in the third, penalties to both the Rhinos and the Brave led to chances, but no additions to the score.

Following an icing in the eighth minute, an interception by new Brave Lachlan Fahmy led to a sharp pass to unmarked debutant Henry York, who beat the goaltender with a crisp shot – making the score 4 goals to 2.

Moments later the score could have been 5-2, when a shot into the net by Toby Kubara was ruled a no-goal due to a high stick.

After back-and-forth play, the Brave did add their fifth goal – when Chris Stoikos netted his second for the afternoon. Stoikos stepped into a pass between two Rhinos, and rushed the puck from one end of the rink to the other – before slotting the goal.

The Rhinos added a third goal late in the game – with David-James Jeremy scoring his second for the afternoon. 

Although the Rhinos did push hard in the final few minutes, they were unable to score again and the Brave ran out winners 5 goals to 3.

With a number of players still to join the Brave for the Season, next weekend’s double header will be a test for the team.

The Brave’s opening home game for the season is Saturday – when they face the Sydney Ice Dogs at the Phillip Ice Skating Centre. 

The team then travels to Sydney on Sunday to face the Sydney Bears – in what should be their biggest test of the season so far.

With imports due and players on national duties back in the coming weeks, a first-up win was crucial and the three points the Brave earned should prove very handy.

Written by: Scott Stevenson