Selected photos from the Elite Summer Ice Hockey (ESIHL) game between the Cowboys and Broncos played at the Ice Arena, Adelaide, South Australia on 23/01/2026. This would be the first time these two teams faced each other with both teams having won a game against the Voltage it was geared up to be a humdinger of a game, especially since there were 3 sets of brothers, McGuinesses, O’Briens and Bensons facing off against each other (the only exception were Zac and Tyler Boyle, together on the Broncos). Starting goaltenders were Jeremy Friederich for the Cowboys and for the Broncos, Riley Knapp.
The period opened with the experienced Zac Boyle landing a solid check on Yongen Song into the boards in the corner. Kyle MacPhail would open the scoring and put the Broncos on the board first (assists Jake O’Brien, Damon von Einem). Steve Best of the Cowboys would level the score at 9:44 (assists Nathaniel Benson, Marcel McGuiness). Then Marcel would put the Cowboys one up less than a minute later at 8:30 (assist Nathaniel Benson). Two penalties did not change the score. Shots on goal for the period: Cowboys 11, Broncos 7.
Things were certainly heated as each time tried to get on top of the other, and Steve Best would head to the penalty box for a slashing minor at 13:30. Kyle MacPhail would once again score the first goal of the period to level the scores at 2-all (assists Jake O’Brien, Daniel Chen), but this time deep into the period at the 8 minute mark. At the 6 minute mark Yongen Song, got his own back put the Cowboys one ahead (assists Nathaniel Benson, Hudson Elze). Half a minute later, Steve Best would land a hammer blow and put the Cowboys up by 2 (unassisted). However, at the 2min mark he received a cross-checking penalty, but there was no change to the score. Shots on goal for the period: Cowboys 7, Broncos 5.
Third period in this entertaining game saw plenty of checks and aggression, with the aforementioned brothers often against each other….somethings got to give with sibling rivalry! Cowboys Nathaniel Benson would posy another goal to take the lead out to 3 goals at the 14 minute mark (assist Steve Best). At this point, Broncos coach called backup goalie Russell Brewer to replace Riley Knapp in net. The referees would gather at the Cowboys bench at the 9:38 mark to discuss the team sheet to find Grady O’Brien as an ineligible player and therefore a 2min minor penalty. Steve Best would receive his 3rd penalty for the game aty 4:49, this time for holding. Marcel McGuiness was rewarded for his hard work and scored the Cowboys 6th goal with a minute left in the game (assists Shaun Dosanjh, Jordan Freeman). Daniel Chen put some respectability back into the score and scored the Broncos 3rd goal with 8secs remaining in the game. The battered and bruised Broncos, with Bill Newbound and Jack Fode injured on the bench by the end of the game had some soul searching to do for their next game. Shots on goal for the period: Cowboys 7, Broncos 4.
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