Six Point Roadtrip

The James Melbourne Mustangs have returned from the weekend's road trip to Adelaide with all six points on offer, moving the club from the bottom of the AIHL standings to fifth place.

Over the course of the weekend eight different Mustangs scored ten goals, while goaltender James Kruger allowed just three goals on 75 shots.

Going into Saturday it seemed the Adrenaline game plan was to target the Mustangs defence, which they had admitted they saw as their main weakness. The Mustangs defensive structure however made it difficult for the Adrenaline to enter their zone, and repeatedly pushed their offence to the outside for lower quality shots.

"I think we did a good job defensively in front of Kruger, which made it easier for him to make those good saves," said Coach Michael Flaherty. "Defensively we didn't allow them to take two or three shots on him, so he was able to get that first shot then get the whistle or clear the puck. He's getting better and better, he really stood up for us today."

The Mustangs had the only goal of the first period thanks to team leading scorer Jamie Bourke. Brendan McDowell and Anton Kokkonen opened the lead to 3-0 in the second before Darren Corstens tried to start an Adelaide comeback.

It was in vain for the home team as during the final period Pat O'Kane tipped a McMahon shot in on the power play to leave the home team down by three goals with less than five minutes to play. With Matt Beattie sitting a slashing penalty in the final two minutes of the game, Jamie Bourke took advantage of not being able to ice the puck on the penalty kill and an empty Adrenaline net to seal the 5-1 victory.

Sunday's game saw changes in both teams lineups. Adrenaline import goaltender Matt Murphy injured his hip during Saturday's game, so was replaced in net by Peter King. This allowed the Adrenaline to ice four import skaters. Maxime Langelier-Parent returned to the Mustangs lineup after being injured the previous weekend against the Northstars. His return meant it was Pat O'Kane's turn to sit out as the fifth import, the first AIHL game he has missed since entering the league in 2013.

With two import defenceman on the ice, getting into the Adrenaline zone was harder than the previous game. The Mustangs still drew first blood as Matt Beattie made the Adrenaline PK unit pay for a poorly timped lapse with a short-handed goal.

Thirteen penalties compared to five the day before showed the frustration the Adrenaline were feeling as Kruger repeatedly turned away their shots, and again the Mustangs increased their lead as Langelier-Parent made it 2-0 to end the second period.

The Mustangs were without Jamie Bourke for the third period, after a puck to the face opened up his chin. A fix up job on the bench and a new jersey didn't see him through to the end of the game after a stick to the face reopened the wound and he had to leave for the hospital for six stitches. His absense didn't slow the team down as McDowell, Virjassov and Paul Lazzarotto with his first AIHL goal put the game again out of reach for the home team for a final score of 5-2.

"It was a tough physical game. They didn't want to give up those points easily and they made us earn it," said coach Flaherty. "I'm really proud of our boys. Across the course of the weekend every single guy on the roster stood up. They all did something that contributed to us getting six points to take home on the plane back to Melbourne."

The Mustangs are back at home this Sunday to take on the Melbourne Ice at 4pm. Get your tickets now!