AIHL Playoffs: Brave edge Mustangs as Northstars march into championship game

James Lane

The Newcastle Northstars and Canberra Brave will meet for the title after contrasting semi-final victories on Saturday, with Newcastle dismantling the Sydney Ice Dogs while Canberra produced another extraordinary comeback win over the Melbourne Mustangs.

Newcastle Northstars 10 – 1 Sydney Ice Dogs

For one period, it looked like the Ice Dogs might have something special in them. Sydney took a shock 1–0 lead through Natan Vertes and, remarkably, held it all the way through the opening period. Against the regular-season champions, the Ice Dogs had every reason to believe they could cause another upset.

Then Newcastle stopped messing around. The Northstars exploded for seven goals in the second period, completely turning the game on its head and effectively ending Sydney’s hopes before the final break.

There was no let-up in the third, either. Newcastle added another three goals to reach double figures and put together one of their most emphatic performances of the season.

Francis Drolet was the standout, completing a hat-trick while also registering three assists in a seven-point performance.

Melbourne Mustangs 4 – 5 Canberra Brave (OT)

The second semi-final was a completely different story. The Mustangs and Brave had finished the regular season level on points, with Melbourne taking second place and Canberra third. But despite having already played a preliminary final on Friday, it was the Brave who found another level when it mattered most.

Canberra dominated the first two periods. They scored once in the opening frame, then added two more in the second while keeping Melbourne completely scoreless. At 3–0 after 40 minutes, the Brave looked destined for a comfortable victory.

Then the Mustangs finally arrived. Two goals in the third pulled Melbourne back to 2–3 before Jake Ratcliffe restored Canberra’s two-goal cushion. But the Mustangs refused to go away. With just 90 seconds remaining, Melbourne completed the comeback, scoring twice to level the game at 4–4 and force overtime.

After everything Canberra had already endured across the two days, they still had one more answer. Peter Bates became the hero, scoring the overtime winner to send the Brave into the championship game.

Northstars vs Brave: the championship awaits

And so, the final is set.

Newcastle Northstars vs Canberra Brave.

The top-ranked Northstars will face the third-placed Brave for the AIHL championship, with both arriving after very different semi-final experiences. Newcastle had to recover from an early shock before producing an extraordinary seven-goal second period. Canberra, meanwhile, have now won consecutive playoff games, surviving the Bears before stunning the Mustangs in overtime. The regular season says Newcastle should be favourites. But Canberra have already shown that they are very comfortable ignoring what the ladder says.