The final round of the Australian Ice Hockey League was played last weekend. The playoff bound Sydney Ice Dogs were hosting the Perth Thunder, who had a strong debut season, finishing 4th in the Easton Conference.
Both teams stepped onto the ice with purpose,evidenced by some big hits early (most notably on, and by, Ice Dogs captain Andrew White. It took less than 3 minutes for Sydney import Casey Mignone(3G 2A) to light the lamp, beating Perth 'tender Ayden Millward on the Power-play, after brilliant passing from defenders Paul Baranzelli (1A) and Andrew White(0G 3A).
Mignone would grab his second a little over 4 minutes later, with Shannon McGregor (0G 1A)picking up the assist. Casey was on the scoresheet again 24 seconds later, with an assist for fellow import Kirk Golden(2G 1A).
3 goals from 5 shots saw Perth replace their goaltender with import Kiefer Smiley, but the damage had been done and the Ice Dogs went into the rooms leading 3-0.
Smiley's inclusion in the game saw the scoring tighten up, however he couldn't stop Mignone from picking up his hat trick from a short handed goal with 5:27 left on the clock as David Dunwoodie was off for hooking.
Perth's Jordan Kyros ruined Ice Dogs goalie Gabe Robledo's chance of a shut out at the 11:45 mark of the second period. 4-1 heading into the third.
The third period was a busy one for the referees, with 20 minutes of PIMs being handed out. Kirk Golden scored his second goal, again a short handed effort with Scott Stephenson off for slashing. A clear by Mignone straight off a defensive face off gave Golden a breakaway opportunity. Perth were able to draw another one back with 3:47 left to make it 5-2.
It only took 0:09 for Sydney to make the most of a 5 on 3 power play opportunity, with Tomas Manco picking up the goal, assisted by Kirk Golden. The lead increased again to 7-2 with Richard Tesarik slotting another power play goal (power play went 4/7 for the night).
Perth were able to make the score a little more respectable on the back of 2 quick Powerplay goals (one 5 on 3, one 5 on 4) as Scott and Todd Stephenson were off (Scott for cross checking, Todd for high sticking) in the last 2 minutes of the game.
A strong 7-4 win for the Ice Dogs, allowing them to build momentum for their playoff match up against the Melbourne Ice on September 1 in Newcastle.
After the game, Kirk Golden had his hair cut for The Children with Cancer Foundation and Locks for Love, raising nearly $1000.
