The CBR Brave have defeated the Adelaide Adrenaline to claim the Beyond Blue cup for the 3^rd straight year in an 8-3 show of dominance at the Phillip Swimming and Ice Skating Centre on Saturday night.

(Tristan Metcalf drops a ceremonial puck for the Beyond Blue Cup. CBR Brave captain Mark Rummukainen and Adelaide Adrenaline captain David Huxley contest the drop. Credit: Paul Furness)

CBR Brave Head Coach Rob Starke praised the level of effort from the Brave tonight, saying “I think we had a great start to the game and we never let down, we didn’t give them any opportunities to get back in the game and we found a way to play 3 very, very solid periods.”

The CBR Brave took a commanding 5-1 lead at the end of the first period, with a hat trick from CBR Brave defender Matt Harvey completing a strong opening term from the Brave. The strong start from the Brave set the scene for the night, with the Brave looking the stronger of the two sides all night.

Adelaide Coach Sami Mantere spoke to the Adrenaline’s tough start to the night, saying “We have a really rough start, a slow start. We picked up a little towards the second period and third, I think we played alright.”

Ales Kratoska scored the Adrenalines only marker of the first period to keep the visitors in touch at 2-1 shortly after Mark Rummukainen gave the home side a 2-0 lead, which was a rare bright spot for the visitors in the opening term. 

Peter King had a rough start to the night, but showed incredible resiliency to come out in the second and third periods to make some highlight reel saves to keep the Adrenaline in the game.

A quick start to the second period, topped off with another goal to Kratoska was precisely what the Adrenaline needed, but the Brave were able to steady the ship thanks to Matt Harvey’s 4^th goal to put the Brave up 6-2. A maiden goal from new Brave recruit Wehebe Darge saw the home team extend their leader to 7-2, as it would stay heading into the second intermission.

Starke also pointed to the impact that new recruit, Wehebe Darge will have on the Brave. “I think Wehebe played an excellent game, a very emotional game playing against his former team mates, but that’s not Wehebe’s best” said Starke.  “So I think we are going to see a lot more of him, he uses his speed and he is an offensive threat every time he steps on the ice.“

(CBR Brave defender Matt Harvey puts one of his 4 goals past Adelaide Adrenaline goalie Peter King. Credit: Paul Furness)

Again it was the travelling side that would open the scoring in the 3^rd, through Greg Oddy thanks to a defensive miscue from the Brave. Oddy found himself one on one against Aleksi Toivonen and was able to beat the young goalie with a strong top shelf shot.

Casey Kubara would go on to seal the game at 8-3 after capitalising on Dominic Jalbert streaming coast to coast, only to be denied by a fantastic save by King. King wasn’t able to freeze the puck however as a juicy rebound found its way onto Kubara’s who made no mistake as he calmly slotted home.

Sami Mantere touched on the changes that the Adrenaline need to make heading into tomorrow night’s rematch. “The big thing is the mindset that we can beat these guys, as we showed in the third, we can play and we can compete.” Mantere said “We can adjust our game a little bit, but the biggest thing I find is the mental state.”