Pete King made 33 saves in the loss but once again the Adrenaline struggled to beat Fraser Carson on the other end of the rink for the Mustangs.
Wehebe Darge had a late equaliser to force a shootout but the Adrenaline could only muster one goal in the tiebreaker, losing their second shootout of the season.
It was the trademark of the Melbourne Mustangs that inflicted pain on the Adrenaline early.
Just minutes into the opening period, the Mustangs patiently cycled the puck, controlled the play, dominated the tempo and waited for an opportunity to strike.
It was a clean pass from behind the Adelaide net that caught the Adrenaline off-guard when Michael McMahon scored his first goal in an Orange uniform to put the home team up 1-0 early on.
Seconds later though, Adelaide went straight to the power play, controlling the puck and getting good shots on net, but it was a fluke play that proved to be the breakthrough.
Zack Firlotte wired a shot from the left point that pinged off the cross-bar, off a Mustang defenseman and into the back of the net.
Adelaide held the rest of the frame to head into the second stanza tied at a goal a piece.
The second period proved that there was not much between the two teams. Any chance Adelaide had, Melbourne had on the other end. Any penalty Adelaide took, Melbourne took one in retaliation.
Finally, with two minutes to go in the period, Melbourne broke through as Jamie Isaacs opened up the Adelaide defenders to get a clean look on goal. He went back-hand and the Mustangs had a two one lead.
The back and forth continued with Steve Best responding soon after. He had been stymied all year but the shifty forward had the puck on his stick just seconds after the Melbourne go ahead goal and made no mistake. He blasted one by Fraser Carson to ensure to scores were tied 2-2 after two periods.
The third period brought more of the same. Close hockey, physical play and equal opportunities on both ends.
The Mustangs struck first midway through the third with a sneaky goal from the point.
But once again Adelaide showed resilience and buried an equaliser. This time it was Wehebe Darge popping in a goal off the scramble.
What ensued was a very tense last few minutes with both teams trading chances to no avail.
In the shooutout, Jamie Bourke beat Pete King with a slow-moving deke on the forehand to open the scoring. Adelaide failed to respond as Stevie Best was denied by Carson.
In the second round Adelaide gained some life. Pat O'Kane sprayed a shot wide for the Mustangs before TJ Battani dangled his way to a tying goal.
But the third round cost the Adrenaline. Vadim Virajsov scored and Wehebe Darge failed on his opportunity.
4-3 Melbourne, in a shootout, is your final score.
Adelaide now have their backs against the wall, needing two big victories next weekend at home vs. the Sydney Bears.
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