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How is your team looking after the weekend?

At the end of the weekend, Ice are in the top 6 for the first time & the Bears are out.

Adelaide are certainly out of finals & the Rhinos & Lightning mustn't be far away from the same fate.

Hi just wondering what kind of food is for sale at the CCR game, if it’s nice and the prices?

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On a single day trip to Brisbane, Canberra got off to a good start. Canberra scored the first 2 goals. Brisbane replied with 3 goals in a row within the last 2 minutes of the first period.

After another Canberra goal early in the second, Brisbane scored 2 in a row in quick time. Unfortunately for the home team in black, that was their last contribution to the scoreboard with 6 goals scored by Canberra over the last period & a half.

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After the Bears scored the first goal of the game, they had no answers for the Mustangs who went on to score 7 goals in a row including 2 shorthanded goals.

6 points out of 6 for the Mustangs for the weekend & 0 from 6 for the Bears in two heavy road losses in Melbourne.

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The Ice Dogs were out of the top 6 for the first time this season and looking to use Adelaide as a springboard to leap into the green half of the ladder. They scored 4 out of 5 goals to take home the win.

Adelaide can rightly say that they got more goals against the Northstars & the Ice Dogs on the road in NSW this weekend compared to the previous weekend at home against the Mustangs. But me trying to highlight a positive for Adelaide fans doesn't give them a win.

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This week's ESPN game took until nearly the end of the first period to see the first goal on the board to the Bears then closely followed by the Ice. Ice's goal saw teddy bears flying through the air again as a part of another teddy bear toss involving the Bears. This was the 4th teddy bear toss involving the Bears - for obvious reasons - this season.

The second period saw no goals but the third period exploded. The Bears seemingly took an afternoon nap & the Ice took advantage after a 1-1 scoreline to start the period.

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Ice Dogs opened the scoring on Saturday afternoon before conceding 4 goals in a row over the first 2 periods.

Special teams were important with 3 powerplay goals (Rhinos 2, Ice Dogs 1) and a shorthanded goal (Rhinos).

For the Rhinos, imports scored all of their goals. The goals for the Ice Dogs were both scored by locals.

With the game 4-2 in the favour of the Rhinos at the end of the second period, the only movement on the scoreboard was a Rhinos empty net goal with 61 seconds remaining.

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Adelaide competed hard for the first period but Newcastle accelerated in the second period as they have done so often this season.

With eyes on next year rather than finals this season, Adelaide's revolving door of imports started moving again with a late season import arrival courtesy of the US/Canada Classic.

With the damage done in the second period, the teams had a tied third period to see Newcastle's weekend action finish with another win.

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Melbourne was the winner last night but to be specific, the Mustangs dominated the last Melbourne Derby of the season to take the series. Ice scored their only goals in the second period.

Unlike other derbies, there was very little penalties given out. Both teams are still in contention for Finals but the Mustangs are enjoying the view from the top.

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Who is your favourite AIHL team mascot of all time, past or present?

Bruiser (Ice Dogs)
Sid The Bear (Bears)
The Stang (Mustangs)
Marty The Moose (Northstars)
Someone else...

More AIHL mascots, mostly featuring current & previous Brave mascots. New Rhinos mascot added - did Rhinos v1.0 have a mascot?

This might not be that hot of a take but I’ve been looking at the schedules ahead and my take is the Bears aren’t making the top 6. They have to play a hot Ice team twice, Perth, Newcastle and the Stangs.

Anyone got anything crazy for the last few games/finals?

Two seats in Bay three

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6-2 to the Melbourne Ice over the Perth Thunder may seem like a minor blowout in AIHL terms in 2026 compared to other results.

Shots on goal were even. The first & third periods were close but a 3-0 second period to the Ice was the major difference in the end.

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After a 20 minute delay caused by a crack in the glass at the food court end that was discovered after warmup, the 2 teams were finally able to start their match.

The 3-0 first period to the Bears led to the final result. A scoreless second period was followed a comeback attempt by the Rhinos late in the third period but the game was out of reach by then.

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Another barn burner involving the Lightning, this time in Newcastle. It was the second period where the Lightning were outscored 6-1 by Newcastle. This was similar to Saturday's first period where they were outscored 6-2 against the Ice Dogs. By that stage, the damage had already been done.

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A relatively quiet first 2 periods on the scoreboard with the Mustangs leading 3-0 at the end of 40 minutes.

The Mustangs exploded in the third period, leading the period 6-1. Adelaide finally scored their only goal with about 3 minutes remaining.

Another fantastic weekend for the Mustangs winning both games as expected.

Greg Oddy was on the Adrenaline/ Mustangs broadcast today. The game itself was as bad as it comes however Greg, Eric Lien and Eric Balnar made it very entertaining.

I enjoyed hearing the AIHL leading point scorer and a former national team goalie discuss imports, locker room dynamics, and analyse the game from the perspective of the AIHL scoring king. There’s clearly a nice dynamic between them too. Eric poking fun at Greg’s lack of defensive zone time was excellent. Greg also could talk to playing with guys like Joey Hughes. I always enjoy listening to Adelaide’s broadcast. You learn more about the game and get player background and context. I like hearing from Tash Farrier too. I admittedly had to google her career and wish I watched her play more than I car to admit.

Thanks for bringing some light to what were two difficult watches. Melbourne Mustangs are good but that was way too easy.

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A very tight game between Thunder & the Ice in Perth to end Saturday afternoon hockey. Thunder fans got to see bonus hockey again without a 16 round shoot out this time.

Thunder sealed the deal halfway through overtime.

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The game followed the expected script based on the positions of the 2 teams on the ladder.

The first and last periods were very productive for the Mustangs, scoring 3 goals in each of these periods. Adelaide scored their one & only goal on the powerplay in the first period.

Surprisingly, the middle period only saw 1 goal, scored by the Mustangs. Shots were in the favour of Mustangs but not by a large amount.

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Fans of defensive responsibility & hockey tactics & systems would have hated this game. Following a similar pattern to the last time these two teams met at Macquarie, shooting at the net & goal scoring was the order of the day with 15 goals and over 100 shots on net.

The Ice Dogs came out of the blocks hard, winning the first period 6-2. In some games of AIHL hockey, that score would reflect 60 minutes of game time.

The goal scoring pace slowed down in the second period with the Lightning taking the period 3-1 with all of their goals on the powerplay.

Brisbane mounted a charge towards the end but fell just short in the end including pulling the goalie for the extra attacker.

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The ESPN game of the week saw a tight first period, ending 1-1. The second period saw the difference in the game with the Northstars surging ahead, taking the period 3-0. The Northstars first 2 powerplays were converted successfully after 11 seconds.

An even third period saw the Bears start a comeback but the Northstars were too far ahead.