Goals galore as Adrenaline go down

A four-goal burst by the Sydney Ice Dogs saw the Adelaide Adrenaline slip to a tough 6-3 defeat in a see-sawing clash at the Ice Arena.

Five goals to Sydney in the second period set-up the win while Alex Adams, Caleb Apperson and Steve Best scored for the Adrenaline. Sebastian Andersson had 26 saves against a frenzied opposition while Glen Forbes-White made 14 in a scoreless third period.

For Harley Anderson, who has four points from his past three games, the Brisbane forward knows it has been a bit of an inconsistent start.

“It was working there for a little bit, and got a few goals but defensively I definitely need to be better and pick up my game in the d-zone more,” he said.

After conceding a goal inside one minute on Saturday, Adelaide kept the Ice Dogs at bay until the sixth minute before Adams made a stellar run to see the first period finish 1-1.

Andersson was busy in front of goal as the Ice Dogs regularly challenged with the likes of Nathan Chiarlitti and Geordie Wudrick leading several breakaways, while he also denied Scott Stephenson twice in quick succession.

With Sydney catching Adelaide out on several occasions, Wudrick had the opener with 6.03 on the clock, scoring after Chiarlitti won possession from an Adelaide attack. As Grant Toulmin skated down the left, Wudrick swept through the centre, received the puck and scored a slapshot goal.

Expecting to take a lead into the second period, Sydney were caught napping by Alex Adams and his second goal in two games.

Fending off the Ice Dogs deep in defence, Adams split their defence with a dash down the middle of the ice. Without pausing for a millisecond, Adams passed off the puck with a feather-light touch seeing it come straight back into his possession, before he smashed in the tying goal with 21 seconds left.

The game was not level for long as Sydney scored inside a minute of play for the second period with Chiarlitti scoring off a rebound, and while the Adrenaline landed a 1-2 blow to take the lead, a quickfire brace from Todd Stephenson had Sydney up 4-3 with 5.42 remaining.

In between Sydney’s scoring, an aggressive Adelaide pushed ahead through goals to Steve Best and Caleb Apperson in a pair of power plays.

Best was patient for his goal, allowing Sydney’s defence to sit back deep before passing to Apperson. His shot was saved but Best pounced on a rebound from Nicholas Mizen to tie the game.

At 8.56, Apperson gave the Adrenaline a 3-2 lead, scoring what looks to be a trademark long range rocket through an offensive screen.

From there the period unravelled, as Sydney pushed numbers forward to score four unanswered goals, with Jonatan Ruth and Wudrick building up a three-goal advantage.

Anderson says it was a tough period where defense slipped and the Adrenaline couldn’t get back into the game.

“We got up there for a little bit and then a 5-on-3 and the penalties killed us,” he said.

“It’s tough killing penalties and getting two goals scored against you, and then bouncing back. We let off and a few defensive lapses killed us. But we were up to the pace and start making it tougher for other teams to score goals against us.”

With Forbes-White taking over for Andersson in net, Adelaide was ready to shake things up with fresh legs and an early powerplay was their first opportunity to get back in the game.

A much needed goal wouldn’t come, however, as the game got physical and Zach Boyle nearly lost his head when an Ice Dog crushed him into the barrier and Boyle’s helmet went flying. Andrew Stapleton also took a high stick in a tackle that saw him sandwiched.

Strong glovework by Forbes-White meant the Ice Dogs couldn’t add to their lead, but when Alec Stephenson skated into him on a save tempers were flaring. Eventually, though, it was Adams who went to the box as he was called for hooking while trying to win back possession after dancing through the opposition.

Late drama also saw Apperson crash into Sydney’s goal and slide headfirst into the wall, but as the action unfolded, time ran out for Adelaide.

Next week sees the Adrenaline at home to the Melbourne Ice and Anderson is positive the team will be back to their best.

“The locker room’s really good and really positive. Everyone is here to play hockey, be a team and win,” Anderson said.

“We can come back and take on any team in the league. Hopefully we can get some more wins.”

Adelaide has a chance to bounce back at home vs. the Melbourne Ice - the 2017 AIHL Champions. If Adelaide win both games they will be top of the ladder.

Tickets for next weekend’s games are available at www.adelaideadrenaline.com.

SCORING SUMMARY