To become champions, a team must hit their peak at the right time and, with only two weeks left in the 2017 AIHL season, now is that time for The James Melbourne Mustangs. After a perfect road trip, the Mustangs are on the brink of qualification for the finals for the second time in their history. Collecting maximum points from their nearest challengers means they only need another three points to earn the right to play for the Goodall Cup this season. Currently level on points with the CBR Brave, the Mustangs could finish as high as second if they win the majority of their remaining games. As such, we could be witnessing a possible preview of the finals when the Perth Thunder travel to Melbourne this weekend.

The Mustangs will be hoping to continue the form that resulted in two hugely important wins in Sydney and Newcastle last week. They left the Ice Dogs hopes hanging by a thread after a narrow 2-1 win, then destroyed any remaining hope the Northstars had with a 6-1 victory that officially eliminated the Novocastrians from the 2017 finals race. Goaltender James Kruger was exceptional across both games, giving up only one goal per game while facing a total of 62 shots. Making his return after a few games out, Maxime Langelier-Parent also had a strong weekend. After assists on both goals against the Ice Dogs, he scored a hat trick in a four point game over the Northstars. With five high quality imports on the Mustangs roster there is a need for rotation, and it is great to see a seamless interchange between whoever is called on to take the ice.

The Thunder head to Melbourne fresh off a bye weekend, and will be out for revenge this week as it was only a few weeks ago that the Mustangs left Perth with four out of the six points. Very little separated the teams as the Mustangs pushed the Thunder all the way to a shootout in the first game, and then confirmed their status as a contender with an impressive 4-1 victory. Late goals to Vadim Virjassov and Mitch Humphries in each of the first two periods gave the Mustangs the upper-hand before Anton Kokkonen scored a double to seal the win. 

It will take a complete team effort for the Mustangs to repeat that performance in Melbourne as they will be facing one of the AIHL’s most consistent goaltenders in Peter Di Salvo. The Mustangs will need to limit the Thunder’s scoring chances while sending a high number of attempts the other way in the hope of getting a few shots past him.

Having already earned their spot, the Thunder will be keen to secure another win at the O’Brien Group Arena to increase their confidence when they return in two weeks. They will be looking to apply pressure to a Mustangs team whose consistency at home has still yet to be proven. This makes it the ideal test for the Mustangs leading into the finals, as it will show is whether they can compete with a top side in consecutive games.  As these will be the last home games for 2017, a large crowd is anticipated to be supporting the Mustangs as they attempt to confirm their place in the finals, by knocking over one of the teams they could be facing.