AIHL Review: Comebacks everywhere as Newcastle stay clear and the finals race tightens

James Lane

If there was one theme to Saturdya, it was comebacks. Time and again, teams overturned seemingly commanding leads, with Melbourne Ice producing the most dramatic fightback of all. Newcastle and Perth both split heavyweight series, Canberra kept rolling, and the battle for the remaining finals positions became even tighter.

Canberra Brave 10 – 1 Adelaide Adrenaline

Friday night was one-way traffic.

The Brave overwhelmed Adelaide from the outset, running up double figures in a dominant performance. Jake Ratcliffe was at the centre of everything, finishing with a goal and four assists as Canberra continued their late-season surge.

Central Coast Rhinos 8 – 6 Brisbane Lightning

Saturday’s opening game looked firmly in Brisbane’s control for two periods.

The Lightning led 2–1 after the first and extended that advantage to 4–2 after the second before everything unravelled. Central Coast exploded for six goals in the third period while conceding only twice, completing one of the biggest turnarounds of the season.

Melbourne Mustangs 4 – 3 Newcastle Northstars

The Mustangs also produced a stunning comeback against the league leaders.

Newcastle raced out to a 2–0 advantage and still led 3–1 entering the third period. They failed to score again, allowing Melbourne to strike three unanswered goals and steal an impressive victory.

Melbourne Ice 6 – 4 Sydney Bears

If Melbourne’s comeback against Newcastle was impressive, the Ice somehow topped it later in the day.

The Bears appeared to have the game won, leading 1–0 after the opening period before stretching the margin to 4–1 after the second.

Then came an extraordinary collapse.

Melbourne scored five unanswered goals in the third period to turn certain defeat into a remarkable 6–4 victory.

Canberra Brave 4 – 1 Adelaide Adrenaline

The second meeting between Canberra and Adelaide was considerably tighter early, with neither side finding the net in the opening period.

Once the Brave broke through, however, they gradually took control to complete another comfortable win over the struggling Adrenaline.

Perth Thunder 4 – 2 Sydney Ice Dogs

Perth claimed an important victory over one of their closest rivals in the standings.

Felix Plouffe led the way with two goals and an assist as the Thunder strengthened their grip on second place.

Newcastle Northstars 5 – 2 Melbourne Mustangs

Newcastle responded immediately to Saturday’s disappointment.

Unlike the first meeting, the Northstars controlled this contest throughout and rarely looked in danger as they earned a split weekend against the Mustangs.

Melbourne Ice 14 – 3 Central Coast Rhinos

Sunday’s biggest shock wasn’t just the margin, but how quickly the game got away from Central Coast.

The Ice stormed to a 5–0 first period lead, repeated the feat with another 5–1 second, and never eased up.

Kolton Shindle was magnificent, recording a goal and six assists in one of the most productive individual performances of the season.

Sydney Bears 8 – 0 Brisbane Lightning

The Bears rebounded from Saturday’s collapse in emphatic style.

The contest remained tight early, with Sydney leading only 1–0 after the first period, before the floodgates opened. The Bears scored four times in the second and three more in the third to hand Brisbane a heavy shutout defeat.

Sydney Ice Dogs 8 – 4 Perth Thunder

The Ice Dogs ensured Perth wouldn’t enjoy a perfect weekend, producing a strong response in Sunday’s rematch.

The teams were level at 2–2 after the first before Sydney gradually pulled away, winning both remaining periods 3–1.

Kabore Dunn starred with three goals and two assists as the Ice Dogs kept themselves firmly in the hunt near the top of the ladder.

Standings

Newcastle remain comfortably on top with 38 points despite splitting their weekend with Melbourne. Perth stay second on 33, but the chasing pack continues to close.

The Ice Dogs, Bears and Brave are now all level on 30 points, while the Mustangs sit just one point further back on 29. Melbourne Ice have quietly become one of the hottest teams in the competition, climbing to 28 points after another explosive weekend.

The Rhinos have slipped to 26 after a difficult pair of games, Brisbane remain on 19, and Adelaide stay last on 7.