Mustangs NSW Preview

The inconsistent 2016 season continues for the MOAT: Melbourne Mustangs. On days when they turn up focused and committed for the entire game, the Mustangs are capable of defeating any team in the league. Regrettably, these days are interspersed with too many others, where lapses of concentration result in goals being scored against them, from which the Mustangs are unable to recover.

Heading to Sydney this weekend, the Mustangs are in a position where they can’t afford any more of the latter type of game day. They face the Sydney Bears and Sydney Ice Dogs in back-to-back must win games. Mixed results against the Perth Thunder last weekend saw the Mustangs fall one spot on the AIHL ladder, overtaken by the Bears who are just as hungry as the Mustangs for a place in the finals at the end of the season.

There were a number of positives the Mustangs took from the games against the Thunder. The coaching staff were pleased with ability of the offence to beat a high quality goaltender and, for one game at least, the defence was rock solid. The way the Mustangs withstood a late wave of attack to collect a vital three points in the first game was impressive, and they will need to replicate this effort in the upcoming games. However, there were some areas for concern, including a series of power play breakdowns which resulted in three short-handed goals. This is something the Mustangs will need to address this week, as the Bears opened the scoring through a short-handed goal to Nic Kawasaki last weekend.

The first stop on this road trip is the Penrith Ice Palace. When the Mustangs travelled to this rink last season, both games ended in high scoring losses, however the addition of Anthony Kimlin in goal for the Bears, leads to expectations that this game will be very different. He claimed his first shutout in Bears colours against the Newcastle North Stars last weekend, successfully stopping all 38 shots. The 3-0 victory, along with a 5-4 win over the Ice Dogs the previous night, enabled the Bears to move past the Mustangs into 5th, but as the teams still have to face each other twice more this season, there is a long way to go before final positions will be determined.

When the Bears travelled to Melbourne two weeks ago, they jumped out to an early lead, but the Mustangs were patient, managing to reel them in, and eventually overtake them late in the third period. As the road team it will be far tougher to come from behind this week, so they will want to get off to a strong start and apply plenty of pressure to the Bears defence.

The Mustangs then head to the Liverpool Catholic Club to take on the Ice Dogs. The teams were supposed to meet there in early June but localised flooding resulted in a postponement, although the uncertainty regarding the rescheduling of this game makes the points on offer here even more important.