Preview Round 14 – Melbourne Derby IV

It’s reality check time for the MOAT: Melbourne Mustangs. After having everything all their own way during their past two games, they are going to need to work a lot harder if they are to continue their winning streak.

Up next is the fourth and final Melbourne derby of 2015, and the Melbourne Ice are in ominous form. They will be looking to complete a season sweep of the Mustangs for the first time since 2012, when they went to on claim the third of their AIHL championships.

Getting swept across all four derbies would be a bitter pill for the Mustangs. The first two were heartbreaking losses that easily could have gone the other way, and if the Mustangs 2015 season could be summed up in a single game it was the third derby. The game was far closer than the final score indicated, much like the Mustangs have been far more competitive than their current seventh placing suggests. If you ignore the two late empty net goals that were given up in attempt to win the game, it was another one goal game. The other three goals were given up at the most inopportune times, showing how much a brief lapse in concentration can hurt a side.

Ice forward Jeremy Brown scored only 10 seconds into the game which meant they were in the box seat from the opening puck drop. Then, after the Mustangs had fought back and the game looked like going to the first intermission all square, they conceded a second goal in the final seconds of the period. It took the Mustangs most of the game to equalise again, Brendan McDowell finally levelling the score with 5 minutes remaining. However, the Ice’s Paul Kurceba scored their third and eventual game winning goal only 20 seconds later. The face offs that open games or immediately follow goals are critical to a team’s momentum, and the Mustangs will have to be far more focused this time if they want to defeat the Ice.

Both teams head into the Derby following dominant wins over the Ice Dogs last weekend. It’s hard to read a great deal into anyone’s performance against the Ice Dogs this season, but prior to that, the Ice defeated the Perth Thunder twice to move past them into the top two. With five wins in a row they are hitting form at the right time. Their veteran players know each other’s game so well that they are near impossible to stop when they get on a roll. It is important for the Mustangs to maintain control of the game if they are to finally get one back on their cross town rivals.

Excluding their Ice Dog encounters, the Mustangs last game was a very underwhelming loss to the Newcastle North Stars. With a rematch shortly after the derby, the Mustangs need a win to remind themselves they can compete with the top teams this season and a win over the Ice could be the catalyst for a strong run to end the season.

The Mustangs will be without Viktor Gibbs Sjödin who was goaded into a fight with Ice Dog Kevin Harvey last weekend. Coach Brad Vigon praised the players for sticking up for each other, and hopefully they can rise to cover his absence in what is sure to be another physical game. While they experienced a fair bit of physicality over the past two games, it is the mental side where the game will be won or lost this week. The Mustangs will need every player to be in the right mindset in order to prevent a swift return to earth.