Adrenaline can't stick with clinical Brave

The Adelaide Adrenaline showed glimpses of fight but they just could not keep pace with a clinical CBR Brave in an 11-4 defeat at home at the Ice Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The headlines belonged to a goal hungry CBR as Joseph Hughes scored a hattrick and six points, while Channing Bresciani notched five points from five assists. Ales Kratoska was Adelaide’s best with two goals and an assist, his three points lifting him to 21 for the season and joint fifth in the league - alongside Hughes.

A brief fightback in the opening period gave Adelaide some hope however it was CBR who looked the most dangerous, and were the most dangerous, with 22 shots to 6 to start the clash.

Their breakaway provided early headaches as Wehebe Darge scored the opener inside one minute following a precise pass from Hughes on the left wing.

With only Sebastian Andersson to beat in goal, Darge was at his clinical best.

Struggling to clear the puck, Adelaide was made to pay as Ainars Podzins doubled the lead at 10.34 with a goal so fast it was in the back of the net before Andersson even had time to blink.

Despite the two early goals Andersson was also Adelaide’s best with a pair of diving pad saves the highlights of a challenging period.

Caleb Apperson brought some hope with his slapshot beating Matt Hewitt from a sharp angle. The respite was brief, however, and two late goals to Hughes and Per Daniel Goransson had the Brave up by a healthy margin at the first break.

While it may have taken nearly 10 minutes to see the first goal of the second period, when it rains it pours, and the Adrenaline were on the receiving end of the deluge.

Early signs were positive as Steve Best and Ryan Foll played with renewed creativity and with Adelaide playing confident hockey the Brave were struggling to dominate like they had been.

Never far from the action, Ales Kratoska brought the crowd to their feet at 6.22, snapping up a backhanded pass from Joey Rezek and scoring the Adrenaline’s second on a crisp breakaway.

Unfortunately the home fans were slinking back into their seats as a 90 second onslaught saw Hughes, Trevor Gerling and Hayden Dawes bring the Brave back to life for a 7-2 lead after two periods.

A pair of goalie changes saw rookies Glen Forbes-White and Alex Tetreault in net for their respective sides and following strong starts for both the goals started flowing yet again.

Kratoska tipped home a rebound for his second of the game before Rezek chimed in for Adelaide’s fourth following a series of pinball passes across the ice.

Any fear from CBR was shortlived, however, and the 7-4 scoreline blew out over the final stages as Hughes recorded his hattrick and Podzin a brace.

The Adrenaline are at home again next weekend in a double-dip against the Sydney Bears, with tickets available here.