A 20 day break following the opening weekend, has given “The James” Melbourne Mustangs ample time to prepare for their upcoming games. It’s been that long since they played, it almost feels like the season is beginning again. Of course there is no way to recover points dropped to the CBR Brave last month, and the rest of the league has been busy accumulating points over the past couple of weeks, so it is essential that the Mustangs put up a strong showing when they return to face the Melbourne Ice this Saturday.

Derby games have frequently proved to be a struggle for the Mustangs. They failed to earn a single point against their cross-town rivals last year, and will need to improve all aspects of their game if they to be competitive this year. While the Mustangs were resting over the past two weekends, the Ice have put together a solid unbeaten start to 2017. They return from a NSW road trip where they held off a fast finishing Newcastle Northstars, before their game against the Sydney Bears was called off due to a fire at the rink. 

An already strong Ice squad has been bolstered by the addition of former Northstars goaltender and 2016 AIHL Finals MVP Dayne Davis and former Mustangs forward Viktor Gibbs Sjödin. The latter, instrumental in the Mustangs 2014 Goodall Cup win over the Ice, is already making his mark on his new team. Gibbs Sjödin helped set up victory over the Northstars last weekend with two second period goals to give the Ice a 3-1 lead. After a third period comeback, scores were tied at the end of regulation, but the Ice were on fire in the shootout, converting all three of their shots to claim victory.

From the figurative to the literal fire, their weekend was ultimately cut short by a burning Macquarie Centre speaker, but the consistency shown in their first three games has earned the Ice a share of the lead in the standings, and they will be full of confidence that they can maintain their winning streak over the Mustangs. 

On Sunday the Mustangs face the Adelaide Adrenaline, who will be on a two-state road trip. The Adrenaline will have flown in from Sydney following their third game against Ice Dogs in eight days. As the Mustangs proved in 2015 you can be successful in back-to-back games across two states, and they will need to be ready for a tough game facing the AIHL leading goal scorer Cameron Critchlow. The Canadian import has scored seven times in five games, but due to defensive struggles the Adrenaline have only two wins in that time. Thus far the Adrenaline have conceded the most goals per game, so as long as the Mustangs make the effort to go to the net, scoring opportunities should come their way.

Due to the extended break the Mustangs have some catching up to do. They need their first win of the season before they give the rest of the league too much of a head start. Hopefully three weeks of preparation result in a team that is fired up and ready to make an impact, otherwise they could get burned and find themselves in a state of alarm.