Weekend Preview - Ice & Adrenaline

“It’s Groundhog day, again,” or at least that’s how it feels when The James Melbourne Mustangs face a second Melbourne derby only a week after yet another narrow loss to the Melbourne Ice. Also, with the Adelaide Adrenaline heading back to Melbourne via Sydney again, there is strong sense of déjà vu about this weekend’s games.

The Ice continue to hold the upper hand over the Mustangs. Their 2-1 victory last Saturday extended a winning streak that now stretches five games over 22 months. They are by no means invincible, but they believe in their superiority, hence the Mustangs need to take the same mental approach and have confidence in their ability to the game if they are to be successful.

The Mustangs spent last week chasing the Ice thanks to a third minute goal from Jeremy Brown. They performed admirably in defence, even killing off a 5-on-3 penalty, but will need a stronger start this week. It was a second goal from Brown on a power play that proved to be the difference in the end. Serving as a reminder that the Mustangs need to limit their penalties because eventually a team with that much offensive skill will take advantage on the scoreboard.

With Fraser Carson sidelined by injury for an extended period it was great to see Nic Novysedlak step in and make some huge saves against his former team last week. He was a big factor in keeping the score close as Mustangs were outshot by 36 to 23, however he will need plenty of assistance from the defence to repeat that effort this weekend.

After yet another disappointing derby, the Mustangs finally picked up their first victory of the year with an emphatic 9-5 win over the Adrenaline.  Three Mustangs goals late in the first period, including one short-handed by Maxime Langelier-Parent, set up with a commanding lead. When the second period began with Anton Kokkonen also scoring short-handed on the same Sean Jones penalty, the game looked to be heading towards a very lopsided score. A brief fightback from the Adrenaline saw them get with two goals but the Mustangs were never in any significant danger of giving up their lead.

Following that defeat the Adrenaline have recruited a new import goaltender, Canadian Matt Murphy. He is expected to be joining the team on their road trip this week so it is likely the Mustangs will have to work a lot harder for their goals.  They will need to be committed in defence as the Adrenaline showed they can score quickly should their opponents switch off.

Last weekend was by no means among the worst for the Mustangs but it can certainly be improved upon. The right mental preparation and belief in themselves will go a long way to breaking their Melbourne derby curse.