Weekend Preview - Melbourne Ice

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” such was the difference between The James Melbourne Mustangs last week in Adelaide, and the weekend of the most recent Melbourne Derby. On May 20 2017, the Mustangs suffered one of their worst losses at the hands of an unrelenting Melbourne Ice. This was compounded the following day by another heavy defeat by the Adelaide Adrenaline. Fast forward four weeks, and the Mustangs appear to have turned the corner, dominating the Adrenaline in back-to-back games in their own building. It was an amazing transformation from a team struggling in all aspects of the game, to one fighting for a place in the 2017 AIHL finals. The six points they collected last weekend, propelled the Mustangs into fifth position, only sitting outside the top four on win percentage.

It was exactly the confidence boost that the Mustangs needed heading into the third Melbourne Derby of the season, and if they can maintain the effort of last week, it will be a far closer contest this time around. With the added reliability of James Kruger in net and former Ice forward Mitch Humphries now on the Mustangs roster, all signs points to a stronger, more balanced team, which will be desperate to finally get a win over their cross-town rivals. Kruger has been a great acquisition for the Mustangs, saving 72 out of 75 shots last weekend, to make it three wins from four starts. Humphries will be keen to make a statement against his old teammates, and show just how much he can contribute when given an opportunity.

In the lead up to the derby, both the Mustangs and Ice had a rare chance to share the ice with some of those to have played the game at the highest level when the Canada vs USA Ice Hockey Classic came to O’Brien Group Arena for a charity match to benefit the STOPCONCUSSIONS Foundation in association with Brain Injury Australia. The Mustangs teamed up with the Americans, and the Ice with the Canadians, for what was advertised as a 4-on-4 contest, but somewhere along the line the players decided they preferred the standard 5-on-5 format. A number of the Mustangs players made contributions to an 8-5 victory, but none more so than Estonian native Vadim Virjassov, who scored the game winning goal for Team mUStAngs. It should also be noted that, while they had a few assists, no one from the Ice sent the puck into the net, so it can be regarded as a minor victory, hopefully on the way to something bigger.

The way in which the Mustangs turned the despair of four weeks ago into the strength witnessed last weekend, provides hope for their future. They have built a good platform over the past few games, but now they need to show the same grit and determination against a more formidable opponent. If they can draw motivation from the constant pain the Ice inflict on them, the Mustangs will eventually be able to overpower them and claim a long awaited victory.