Participation in sport is widely regarded as part of our culture in Australia, and as such The James Melbourne Mustangs want their games to be seen as a fully inclusive environment, where everyone can enjoy the thrill of hockey. This belief in unity and equality will be on display when the Mustangs join with Amnesty International to host the AIHL’s first Pride game, against the Newcastle Northstars this weekend.

Recently, the Mustangs have been unable to string consecutive wins together. They have alternated between winning and losing for the past seven games, and following a rare victory in the Melbourne derby last week, will be trying to halt this trend against a desperate Northstars team. The derby was a controversial game, decided via a shootout goal to Anton Kokkonen with James Kruger stopping all three Ice shooters, but it was a huge relief to have finally defeated their Melbourne rivals for the first time since 2015. Other favourable results around the league last weekend, helped the Mustangs hold on to their position in the AIHL top four. However, with the North Stars only three points behind and steadily improving with each week, the Mustangs need to keep winning to reach their goal of qualifying for the finals.

It takes a lot of work to be become the champions, and, as current Goodall Cup holders, the Northstars know what they have to do to in order return to Melbourne on the last weekend of the season. After a slow start to 2017, they have put themselves right back in finals contention with a series of strong wins. Last weekend they fought back from three goals down to defeat the Adelaide Adrenaline 7-4. As six of the Northstars goals were scored in the third period, the Mustangs will have to remain focused to the very end of each game.

Defensive lapses, especially on the power play, really hurt the Mustangs when they last played the Northstars. They gave up two short-handed goals to Patrick Nadin and Matt Marantz at critical points in the game, and it proved too much to overcome as the Mustangs went down 6-3. With current leading point scorer Felix Poulin on the Northstars roster, the defence will need to be at its best if they are to reverse the result this weekend.

Everyone deserves the right to partake in the activities they enjoy without fear of discrimination or abuse. It is hard to imagine a more welcoming club than the Mustangs, so it is no surprise that they would make an effort to raise awareness of the societal issues facing the LGBTQIA community and provide a safe and friendly atmosphere for all people who want to watch a game of hockey. Though hopefully that atmosphere is not quite as friendly for the Northstars players, because we all want to see our team win.