Selected photos from the Australian Womens Ice Hockey League game between the Adelaide Rush and the Sydney Sirens played at the Ice Arena, Adelaide, South Australia on 4/01/2025. The Australian Womens Under 18 Championship in Katowice, Poland would take some players out of the game, including Elana Holub, Amber Bedell and development players Anika Wegund and Anika Mojzisek. Missing from the weekend’s games leaving a big hole in defence (along with Elana Holub) was import Maya Tupper. Joining the lineup was Madeline Langevin, missing so far at home games this season. In goals for the Rush would be Emma Moonen. At the other end for the Sirens would be Ella Licari. The Rush were looking at consolidation their position near the top of the ladder and the Sirens were looking for some much needed points to advance up the ladder.
Plenty of tangled up players and crashing of sticks was the name of the game. The first change came as Sirens Cleo Mayer was called for interference at 9:52 left in the period giving the Rush the player advantage, but the Sirens managed to see out the penalty. It took until the 4min mark before a goal was registered as Rush’s Jamie Lunn launched a shot from Licari’s glove side and scored, unassisted. The Rush had put plenty of shots on but the big Sirens goaltender wasn’t having any of it. Rush’s Langevin showed plenty of aggression, eager to shut down any Sirens attempts and was a valuable addition to the lineup. Shots on goal saw the Rush dominate once again to the tune of 14 to 6.
The teams were very evenly matched with neither able to find a way past excellent defence and good goaltending. Eventually something would need to give, and Rush’s Sierra Meroniuk would be given a hooking minor at 5:45 left in the period. Sirens Sarah Edney would make light work of it and score within 15secs, after receiving an assist from her goaltender! The Rush were still putting more shots on goal, but Licari was able to stop everything….that was until Rush’s Kaitlyn Malthaner scored at the 2:32 mark resulting in a pile on of her players to congratulate her. The assists came from Kate Tihema and Madeline Langevin. An interference penalty at 4:59 to Kelsie Lang didn’t help the Sirens cause. The Rush found some momentum and with 16secs remaining Tihema would score a goal of her own from Kirsty Venus to give the Rush some breathing room going into the 2nd break. The shots on goal were Rush 9, to the Sirens 4.
The Sirens would need to dig deep and find more shots on goal in the 3rd period to stop the Rush who were starting to play with a lot of momentum. Rush’s captain Tash Farrier would give the Rush some more breathing as her hard work was rewarded with a goal at 13:59 to give the Rush a 3-goal buffer. At 7:16, the Sirens were again in penalty trouble as Lang headed back to the bench, this time for a hooking minor. Some scrappy play ensued in the goal mouth as the Sirens were desperate to stop anything, but somehow Rush’s Torie Cybulksi found a way through. The assists came from Aspen Cooper and Meroniuk. Back to full strength the Sirens tried to stem the flow, but were unable to stop Nat Ayris from scoring late in the period with a minute left. The assists came from Farrier and Cybulski. Shots on goal for the game clearly showed the Rush’s determination and desperation to secure the points. Rush 37 shots to the Sirens 17 shots.
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