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| Ice freeze out Stars in three-in-a-row thriller Will Brodie smh.com.au September 03, 2012 © Pic by Wulos (Mark Bradford) Melbourne Ice have won their third successive Australian Ice Hockey League title, lifting the Goodall Cup at the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium on Sunday after holding out the Newcastle North Stars 4-3 in one of the finest games of domestic ice hockey ever seen in Australia. The top two teams of the past two seasons, who fought out a thriller last year when Ice prevailed 3-2, were long tipped to figure in the season-ender, with the North Stars favourites after having won both regular season clashes this year. But it may be that the nature of Saturday's semi-finals helped seal their fate. Newcastle struggled to shake off a high-class Adelaide Adrenaline, holding on to win 5-4 after enduring a taxing five-minute block of the final period shorthanded. Ice were in control of their semi-final from the outset, leading 3-0 and 4-1 before dispatching the Sydney Ice Dogs 6-2. On Sunday, the rink was rocking from the outset, a significant band of travelling Ice fans matching the passionate support from proud Newcastle locals. And despite Ice ace Jason Baclig creating a good chance in the opening seconds, it was the home team that took advantage of the exhilarating atmosphere. Ice had vowed not to allow the lethal North Stars offence a chance at them on the powerplay, but they were shorthanded within 35 seconds, and though they killed that initial penalty, the pressure had told and the North Stars scored on a brilliant passing play finished by young scoring machine Beau Taylor three minutes in. Newcastle piled on the pressure, its deft mid-rink exchanges setting up wave after wave of attacks. Ice were unable to break through despite briefly holding a 5 on 3 advantage, and it looked like the methodical, precise, cohesive North Stars were going to exploit the Ice for the third time this season when North Stars stalwart Brian Bales made it 2-0 with two minutes to play. However, as they have done all season, Ice fought back just when they appeared to be losing their grip on the title. Gifted leftie Matt Armstrong scored a brilliant unassisted backhanded goal with 1.44 to play in the first period, and his team created two good chances while shorthanded in the final seconds. The second period showcased surely the finest hockey Ice had played in its golden era. Defenceman Dylan Moore said "nothing special" was said at the break, and there was no "ranting and raving" from coach Paul "Jaffa" Watson, but the focused Ice, which had undertaken a meticulous preparation, immediately reversed the game's momentum upon the re-start. Lliam Webster's power and penetrating skating was causing havoc, and suddenly Ice's passing surety returned. Five minutes in, the ceaseless pressure finally told, when Webster's stunning turnaround slapshot beat Olivier Martin in a top corner. 2-2. Newcastle, so fluent and dominant early in the game, were reduced to icing the puck in order to avoid going further behind, their passing coherency broken down by Ice's dedicated back-checking and potent, inventive attacks. |
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For all that, Stu Denman, who had kept Ice in the contest early, was still called upon to make some big saves. With few whistles or penalties, the skating was punishing and the pace relentless. With six minutes and four minutes left in the period, Ice created big scoring chances while shorthanded, thwarted by Martin's acrobatic resolve in net for the North Stars. Then, as the announcer intoned "One Minute Left In The Period!", Ice star Jason Baclig received an incisive pass on the blue line, somehow held off two defencemen and scored a goal in the corner while being dragged to the ice. 3-2 to the back-to-back champs, but even in the final 15 seconds, Denman was twice called upon to preserve the lead, a leg save with three seconds left cramming yet more drama into an amazing 15 minutes. The third period was a case of "But wait, there's more!" Ice had the ascendancy early, but it took six minutes for them to break through, Webster smashing an unstoppable drive right off a face-off to give Ice a 4-2 buffer. However, the North Stars forced a big save out of Denman within 15 seconds, an entree to the high drama to come. The proud Novacastrians threw everything at Ice, and with a little more space at the back to set up their drives, their skills and teamwork again set up chances for their brilliant forwards. Ice players were diving to block shots and stick poke as the crowd went beyond fever pitch. With just over six minutes to go, the pressure told, Ice conceded a penalty and the renowned North Stars powerplay kicked into action, Kevin Day scoring off the post. At 4-3 with five minutes to play, Ice, which had never won a final interstate until the previous day, faced their ultimate challenge. Joey Hughes powered towards the net, the red light went on . . . but no goal. Denman produced save after save. With two minutes remaining, Newcastle took its time-out to plan their final assault. Ice were under extreme pressure, dumping the puck, meaning it came back with interest — stoppages deep in defence. Matt Armstrong was blocked by Martin after breaking clear. Newcastle pulled Martin off the ice to establish a one-man advantage. One goalie was leaning on the boards, helpless, unable to do anything. The other was under ceaseless attack from close range. Despite their best efforts, the strongest Ice line could not clear their zone. With 30 seconds to play, a diving Denman somehow cleared off the line, with some help from the post. Melbourne timeout. There wasn't much that could be said — as defenceman Todd Graham later admitted, it was a case of cover your little area and hold on. Face-off, multi-player hacking scramble in the goalface . . . face-off. The final minute seemed to go on for a period. Finally, with seconds to go, Ice did manage to elude desperate North Stars attackers and the puck slid harmlessly into their empty end of the rink. Siren. The Threeepeat was achieved. |
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