Mustangs v Bears Preview

Nearly a month has passed since the MOAT: Melbourne Mustangs last took to the ice in front of their home crowd. Following three weeks of playing on the road or not playing at all, they finally return to the O’Brien Group Arena this Sunday, taking on the Sydney Bears in the first meeting between the two sides for 2016.

A disappointing Canberra road trip has left the Mustangs season in a precarious position. They had the perfect opportunity to bridge the gap on the top four last weekend, but let it slip, and are now facing an uphill battle to get back into finals contention. The Mustangs have acknowledged that the pressure to perform is mounting, but still believe in their ability to bounce back and finish the season strongly.

The Mustangs were caught in a lot of penalty trouble against the CBR Brave last weekend and will need to be far more disciplined to ensure victory this week. They successfully defended the first six penalties, however the endless procession to the penalty box finally took its toll on the team. Third period power play goals in each game swayed the momentum in favour of the Brave, and guaranteed that full points remained in Canberra.

While the Mustangs slipped back last weekend, the Bears are hitting form and ready to pounce. After a slow start, they have won their last three games. Two of those victories were decided by a shootout, which is where the Bears have dominated this year. Half of the games they have played have required the additional skills contest to determine a winner, and backed by leading Australian goaltender Anthony Kimlin, the Bears have been triumphant in four of the six games that have gone to shootouts.

The Bears have rarely been blown out in any game and head into this weekend having kept the Newcastle North Stars to a single goal last week. Their defence is getting stronger as the season progresses, so the Mustangs will need to put up plenty of shots and maintain a strong presence in front of the net. Kimlin is a very talented goalie and the last time he played an AIHL game in Melbourne, he walked away with the MVP medal in the 2013 AIHL Finals.

The Mustangs have the advantage of facing the Bears on the second leg of a back-to-back, and need to make the most of it. Theoretically, the team with fresher legs should be finishing stronger, but as witnessed earlier in the year, that is not always the case. Hopefully the Mustangs learned from that experience and we will see a committed effort for the full 50 minutes on Sunday.

Since it has been a long wait for the Mustangs to return to Melbourne, it is expected there will be a good turn out on Sunday. There was a fantastic number of fans on the road last weekend, but nothing compares to the boost that comes from a big home crowd and maybe this homecoming will be just the lift the Mustangs need to get back into the winners circle.