Each week I will highlight things that have caught my attention, got me on the edge of my seat or shifted the needle in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL).
Many would remember my Five Things or Five for Writing articles from recent years, well it’s back with a fresh name. In the Blue Paint.
This week we had a returning player, a team struggling to find wins, another youngster makes debut, and a signing making an instant impact
All In the Blue Paint articles can be found at andrewkmacdougall.com.au
Sturny not?
It’s rare that a player will make my article two weeks in a row, however, four goals on Saturday had Jules Sturny as a lock.
The Swiss import put on a show in the nation’s capital for the Brisbane Lightning, instrumental in their 8-6 win.
Sturny gave the Lightning a much-needed road win, and more importantly, split the weekend trip to AIS Arena against the Canberra Brave.
Teams always look to get a series split when playing on away ice, and Sturny led the way finishing with six points (four goals, two assists).
I love it when you call me Big Papas
Back-to-back weekends and it’s a young Australian goaltender that makes the list, as Melbourne Mustangs Tom Papas debuted on Sunday against the Perth Thunder.
16-year-old Papas was outstanding in between the pipes, stopping 34 of 37 shots and finishing with a .919 save percentage.
Papas didn’t look out of place of overawed by the situation, getting down in the butterfly nicely, while making repeat stops and blanking the Thunder on the powerplay as they went 0/5.
Seeing young Australian goaltenders step up and perform strongly in the AIHL is a great sign of the development at the local level.
The A’s are starting to roll
A case of DeJa’Vu for the Adelaide Adrenaline as they complete a home series sweep against the Central Coast Rhinos, again.
The weekend of June 8-9, 2024, was the last time the Adrenaline took all points on home ice in the AIHL. Week 9 of the season would see them beat the Rhinos 7-2 and 4-1.
Romans Nekludovs was outstanding for the Adrenaline, finishing the weekend with five points (three goals, two assists).
Nekludovs has 12 points from four games played since arriving in the AIHL, and the Latvian forward looks like a terrific signing in the city of churches.
Searching for that Dub
What’s happening in Perth? I am big on the Thunder and think they have a strong squad, but their form is dipping.
Only three wins from their past 10 games and currently sit fourth on the AIHL standings.
It’s not panic stations for the Thunder, but they will want to try and turn the ship around soon as teams below sniff around.
Week 10 will see them on important road trips against the Rhinos and Newcastle Northstars, the latter they beat in their home opener.
AIHL points leader Yu Hikosaka didn’t score a goal during week 9 in Melbourne, for the Thunder to get back to winning ways their main sniper needs to find the back of the net.
New import signing, Carn!
You can’t ask for much more than an import making an instant impact in the AIHL, that’s what Nils Carnbäck did for the Brave.
Rolling out the red carpet, Lightning player Batu Gendunov welcomed Carnbäck into the AIHL with a big open ice hit during the Saturday game.
However, Carnbäck recovered and finished the weekend with three goals, including two important markers in the Braves 6-4 win over the Lightning on Sunday.
The 27-year-old Swede is in the prime of his career and has arrived at the Brave with perfect timing.
Adrenaline are starting to put pressure on Canberra for that sixth spot, scoring power from Carnbäck will be much needed down the stretch.
With the current Goodall Cup champions looking to solidify their finals spot and go for back-to-back championships.
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