The second game of the double header weekend between the Adelaide Rush and Melbourne Ice saw a clash with some inline hockey games at Blackwood I wanted to cover as well (son Jordan’s first A grade game for the Phantoms, refer to separate post). Consequently the photos are only from the 1st period. It would be interesting how the 2 teams would match up after the 7-5 goal fest the night before. The Ice had made a change in goals with Kayla Best. The Ice would open the scoring, as Danielle Butler scored at the 18:22 mark after assists from Sharna Godfrey and Steph Conlon. Rush’s Torie Cybulski got an interference call at 16:29 to give the Ice the chance to got further ahead but the Rush’s penalty kill unit snuffed that out. Rush’s Jamie Lunn would score at 13:12 (just as her mum looked away for a second!) to even the score. Assists came from Natasha Farrier and Elana Holub. The remainder of the period saw a lot of penalties dished out! Rush’s Kaitlyn Maltaner for hooking, Rush’s Kate Tihema for hooking, Ice’s Abbey Heale for tripping, Rush’s Jordan Kulbida for roughing and Ice’s Stephanie Cochrane for tripping. Referee Connor Oxlad gave his whistle a workout. Surprisingly none of these resulted in a change to the score line! The game had to be halted around the 4min mark as the officials noted a larger than normal crack in the ice that needed some attention….Ice Arena staff and Zamboni to the rescue! The period resumed after the fix. Shots on goal for the period were almost even, Rush 10, Ice 9).
Rush’s Cybulski (assists Sierra Meroniuk and Maya Tupper) and Sierra Meroniuk (assists Farrier and Holub) would score the only goals in the 2nd period. Another 6 penalties would be given out in the period, 4 to the Rush and 2 to the Ice. Shots on goal for the period Rush 11, Ice 9).
The 3rd period would see Rush’s Jordan Kulbida continue to add to her goal scoring tally for the weekend as she scored on a powerplay to put the Rush up by 3 goals (Ice’s Butler for tripping) at 18:52. Thea assists came from Aspen Cooper and Holub. Deep into the period, Ice’s Stephanie Cochrane would peg one back at 3:31 on a 5-on-3 powerplay (Rush’s Meroniuk for slashing and Tupper for tripping). The assist came from Minran Yang. Rush’s Aspen Cooper chimed in for a goal almost straight away to restore the 3 goal lead after receiving an assist from Tihema. The Ice tried everything, dominating the shot count in the last period 12-6 but the excellent goaltending from Emma Moonen was just too much (0.933). Shots on goal for the game was in favour of the Ice 30 to Rush’s 27 to reflect this. The double header win saw the Rush cement their place at the top of the AWIHL ladder, was the first time in a long time they had beaten the Ice in both games.
When selecting a photo, click on the photo that will appear to then view the larger photo
