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).
This week we had defending champs big wins, a Northstar shutting the door, two teams on the outside looking in, and a goal scoring race heating up.
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Brave flex championship muscle
It was the big-ticket blockbuster, defending champions against the best team in the AIHL.
Canberra Brave on a six-game winning streak, Melbourne Ice with 11 straight wins and hadn’t lost in regulation.
AIS Arena was packed to the brim and a spicy contest is what greeted fans at the rink and on the live stream.
However, it was the Brave flexing their muscle as they put the Ice to the sword sweeping the weekend.
A 5-2 win on Saturday and 9-3 result on Sunday gave the Ice their first two regulation losses and rocketed the Brave up into third place.
Jesperi Viikilä lead the way with six points (one goal, five assists), and Kale Costa picked up his first hattrick of the season.
Brave have now won eight in a row and are the most inform team in the AIHL.
Get Smart!
They only played one game across the weekend, but the Newcastle Northstars continue to roll.
Outshooting the Perth Thunder 46-25 it was a terrific home performance from the Northstars who have now won four in a row.
Furthermore, the star of the show was Charlie Smart in net for the home side who blanked the visiting Thunder.
Stopping all 25 shots Smart picked up his first shutout of the 2025 AIHL season and was selected as the Skaters Network Australian Player of the Week.
Great reward for Smart who has shown glimpses throughout the season of high calibre goaltending.
Northstars number one goalie is arguably their most important player heading into finals and week 14 highlighted that.
Lindal comes up clutch
Better late than never, that’s how the saying goes, as the Melbourne Mustangs delivered a late game winner.
As the Mustangs slipped to sixth spot on the standings finals still isn’t locked away, however Brody Lindal sealed a big win with a wicked snipe.
Scoring the game winner with 11 seconds left Lindal sent the travelling fans into raptures, securing three vital points in a 4-3 win.
It was a big turnaround for the Mustangs who lost the Saturday game 5-1 to the Adelaide Adrenaline.
Snapping a five-game losing streak the Mustangs fought hard for one of their biggest wins of the season.
They now return home to face the Northstars in a big top six clash as teams battle for positions.
The great race
The race to 30 goals in the AIHL is starting to heat up as two players hit the scoresheet for week 14.
Yu Hikosaka and Kolton Shindle are battling to be the first to the 30 mark this AIHL season.
Shindle grabbed three in the Ice trip to Canberra, while Hikosaka scored on goal against the Central Coast Rhinos.
Shindle currently leads the AIHL with 28, Hikosaka with 27, setting up an enticing week 15.
Hikosaka has scored only one goal in the past three Thunder games, while Shindle continues to be consistent scoring at least one goal in 18 of 20 games played.
Both prolific scorers in the AIHL, who will get there first?
Looking in from the outside
Is it the end of the road for the Adrenaline?
They needed two important wins during week 14 but were only able to cash in on the Saturday against the Mustangs.
Currently sitting 14 points behind the Mustangs with three games in hand the finals flame is still flickering.
Mustangs would need to go on a long losing stretch, while the Adrenaline would need to be lights out until the end of the season. Both scenarios seem unlikely.
So that leaves us with both the Adrenaline and Rhinos missing the 2025 AIHL Finals, both teams unable to consistently find their best.
It’s another year of what ifs for both clubs, and with the two Sydney teams returning in 2026 the task gets even harder.
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