This weekend the AIHL had only 2 games scheduled and the Ice Dogs were featured in both and came away with all 6 points on offer.

In a fiery game Saturday the Knoghts came down to Sydney and had a win and a scoring title for their scoring sensation Addison De Boer was just 2 points away from tying the record.

In both cases the knights were unable to acheive their goals as the Dogs beat the Knights 3-2 and help De Boer to just one point.

Jimmy Herbert was superb and deserves the title of best goalie in the league after his outstanding performance including a stopped penalty shot by who else De Boer.

In the Sunday game the Bears finished their dismal season off with another loss as the Doggies coasted to a 4-2 win and now get ready for the final road trip of the year and the playoffs.

Big doggies crowd for both games and the Doggies would like to thank all the fans and supporters who came out to cheer us on in 2011.

In a exciting weekend of hockey the Dogs have cemented a place in the 2011 playoffs with a resounding 7-0 win over the Bears.

In what looked like what was going to be a huge blowout the Dogs shut down their offence after jumping to  5-0 lead after the first period.

The Dogs then settled into their defensive game and skated away with a 7-0 victory with the shutout shared beteen Jimmy Herbert and Colin Downie.

In the Sunday game the Dogs travelled to Newcastle to play the Semi-final preview.

In this fast paced game the Dogs fell short 3-1 thus ending the hopes of a 9 game winning streak.

“We just didn’t get any breaks” said head coach Ron Kuprowsky as the Dogs outshot and outplayed the Northstars but were unable to get more puck past Northstar goalie Ezzy.

“Its was a matter of a couple crossbars, a disallowed goal and a goal post that seperated us” continued the coach , “But this sets us up for the playoffs against them and now we have more to play for than just a spot on the ladder, so they should watch out as we will try a few new things next time we meet in Melbourne”

The Dogs will sure up their 3rd spot on the ladder next weekend when they play another double header here in Sydney.

For the final home game of the year the Dogs host the Knights on Saturday at Liverpool and then play the Bears Sunday at Penrith.

Make sure you come down to  cheer on the Dogs and wish them well as they head for the playoffs.

Doggies dropped a close one but came away with more positives than negatives.

In a close fought battle the Dogs Powerplay were unable to get things rolling while all 3 Newcastle goals came off Penalty situations.

The Dogs played a fast skating, high intencity game and went away from their usual physical style to feel out the Northstars and get a better feel for the team they will most probably play in Melbourne for the Semi-Finals.

“The win would have been nice but what we got was more valuable”, said coach Kuprowsky. “We got to see their weaknesses, and even though we did not capitalize on them we now know where they are”

The Dogs Headed up the Federal Highway on Saturday to play against the Canberra Knights.

With the playoff picture starting to come a bit more clear the Doggies know that each game is a big game and a must win if they plan to make the playoff round this year.

With that in mind the Dogs got the quick jump on the Knights and with import Bert Malloy netting 2 and Mitch Bye continuing his scoring streak by notching one the Dogs went into the shed after the first period 3-1.

The second period saw the Doggies taking a few penalties and were continually opening the door for a Knights comeback as the knights won the second period and it was 4-3 after the 2nd.

In a see-sawing third period the Dogs went up 5-3 on Billy Cliffs goal but the stubborn Knights refused to give up and closed the gap again to one and with just under 5 minutes to making it 5-4 and it was nervous times for the Doggies and the loyal supporters who came down to Canberra with the Doggies.

But with time running down Matt Monaghan put away his second for the evening and all hopes for Canberra that night as the Dogs took the lead and eventually the game 6-4.

This was a big win for the Dogs as they now hope to clinch a playoff spot next weekend when the host the Bears at Liverpool on Saturday and the NorthStars in Newcastle Sunday night.

See you all there…

In a action packed game at the Hunter Ice Arena the Dogs came up against the 2nd placed Newcastle NorthStars in a game that met up will all expectations.

The game started off with some excellent passing and fast skating until the Dogs ran into some penalty trouble in the first period. Despite killing multiple back to back penalties and even a extened 5-3 penalty the NorthStars broke through twice to take a 2-0 lead after the first period.

Determination and spirit was the order of the day as the Dogs rose up and with the help of Mitch Bye and Brook Robson the Dogs equalized and sent the game to a 2-2 draw at the end of the second period.

The Dogs then pounced on a penalty opportunity and led the game 3-2 after Bye notched his second of the evening. The NorthStars fought back and equalized and then it was a nervous 5 minutes as each team traded scoring opportunities but without any luck on either side the game was destined for overtime shootout.

Going into this game the Doggies have not  been involved in any overtime action so it was a new feeling on the Dogs bench and when Scott Stephenson buried a rocket over the top of Australian All-star goalie Matt Ezzy you could feel the momentum swing.

Up stepped the Newcasle scoring sensation Brian Bales to attempt to level the shootout but was denied by Jimmy Herbert with a spectacular save. Next up for the Dogs was Import Ricky Helmbrecht who calmly skated in on Ezzy and in a move worthy of the NHL hi-lite reel made a move that has most of the fans are still talking about today as he undressed Ezzy and all but put the icing on the cake.

Newcastle had one chance to keep the shootout alive but again Herbert was too good and the Dogs skate away with the win.

These two teams will have another crack at each other on Sunday August 14th when the Dogs travel back up to Newcastle to round out the season series with the NorthStars.

This game was a very important game for the dogs and they did not disappoint as they rolled on to a 5 – 2 victory of the Bears.

It was a sluggish first period as both teams struggled to gain any momentum until the Doggies Mitch Bye struck and took the dogs to a 1-0 lead going into the sheds at the end of the first.

Then then Doggies stepped it up in the 3rd scoring 3 unanswered goals and led the Bear 4-0 going into the final frame.

The 3rd period say some questionable calls and some ragged hockey as the Dog skated away with a 5-2 win and now lead the season series with the Bears 2-0.

The two teams clash again Saturday August 13th at Liverpool. See you there.

The Cityview Ice Dogs have continued their march to the finals, earning their third straight victory against a resilient Mustangs outfit at the Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Centre.

The 3-1 win cemented the Ice Dogs third spot on the ladder, opening up a four point lead over the Adelaide Adrenaline and having played the least amount of games in the league.

But both teams may be without players after several fights broke out.

In a highly entertaining game, the Mustangs played a very enthusiastic brand of hockey while trying to match the Ice Dogs dominant aggression. 

It appeared the tactic paid off with the teams going to the sheds locked at one a piece after two.

Early in the third the Ice Dogs star import Brooke Robson got his second after a powerful shot was too hot for the goalie to handle and the puck trickled over the line.

The goal was set up by David Dunwoodie, who took advantage of a line change to make a break down the far side before finding Robson unmarked.

The match was starting to boil over as the Ice Dogs Andrew White and Mustangs Ryan Bennett began trading heated verbal barbs, leading to a 10-minute penalty for White.

But the main event was minutes later as Dunwoodie and Mustangs Captain Shane Hardy shed their gloves and helmets and, in true Ice Hockey tradition, beat each senseless, earning them an early shower and at least a week on the sidelines.

This eruption of tension brought the crowd to their feet but they were in for more as the Mustangs Dean Dunstan and Ice Dogs Scott Stephenson each received four minute penalties for roughing six minutes from time. 

However, when both teams got back to playing hockey, the Mustangs were relentless in attack but the Ice Dogs showed their true defensive credentials, even sealing the 3-1 win with an open-netter three seconds from time. 

Brooke Robson proved the difference between the two teams with two strong goals but said the Mustangs fought hard to be in the game.

“You got to give them credit, they were very composed at the back end and they found a way to hang in there because we didn’t put them away early so most of it falls on us not being able to capitalise on our chances,” Robson said.  “We definitely have the capabilities to play a lot better than we did tonight.”

“The Bears are coming here on Saturday and we get to welcome them to our barn for the first time and they played us tough last game so it’s going to be a tough game like it was today with Melbourne so we definitely got to lock it down for that one.”

“The next game we are travelling up to Newcastle for the first time too.” 

“I’ve never played in Newcastle before and I’m still just really adjusting to the league so I’ll just bring my A-game and have some fun again.”

The Dogs play the Bears next Saturday at Liverpool before heading up the Freeway on Sunday for the match against the North Stars in Newcastle.

Dogs take on the tongues this weekend

The Cityview Sydney Ice Dogs have returned to the winners circle with a 5-0 shutout over a shorthanded Gold Coast Blue Tongues at the Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Centre. 

The Blue Tongues travelled to Sydney with only 13 players, including two goalkeepers, but showed great tenacity to hold the home team scoreless for 28 minutes of the match. 

It was really a game for the glovemen as the Blue Tongues keeper kept the Gold Coast in the match for much of the game and the Ice Dogs Jimmy Herbert earning his first AIHL shutout. 

First period play was a mixture of frustration and confusion as the Ice Dogs were attacking heavily but couldn’t break the Blue Tongues resolute defence. 

The highlight of the period was a rare penalty shot for the Blue Tongues, to which Herbert expertly dealt with. 

The goalless opening period was not through lack of trying as the Ice Dogs had 18 shots on goal to the Blue Tongues five. 

The second period saw many near misses as both teams set up shots but just couldn’t find the back of the net.  

The Dogs were still attacking strongly, but it took until the final two minutes of the period to break the defence. 

Andrew White scored the long range slap shot to give the crowd something to cheer about.  The Dogs pushed for a second before the end of the period, and despite going close, went to the final break one goal up. 

The third period continued where the second one finished as new import ‘Bert’ Malloy slotted the Dogs second goal from close range. 

But the Blue Tongues wouldn’t give up, going on several strong attacking raids and testing the Dogs defence.  However the Dogs showed that they do have the best defence in the league to hold the Blue Tongues at bay. Three minutes from time, Brett Thomas extended the lead to three after White thundered a shot into the boards from the other side of the blue line before Thomas deftly cleaned up the scraps. 

Then to rub salt into the Blue Tongues wounds Matt Monaghan slotted two goals in the final minute before being denied a hattrick as his shot ricocheted off the far post. 

Forward Chris Sekura said the Dogs were glad to get the win after a tough couple of weeks and were looking forward to continuing their dominance over the Blue Tongues on the Gold Coast. 

“What we took out of the losses to Newcastle and the Melbourne Ice was that we just need to stick to our systems and we can’t underestimate any team in the league – they’re the top two teams in the league – so to win this league we’ll have to play better against those teams, stick to our systems play hard and we can beat any team on our day.” 

“The Gold Coast games are another set of important games for us.”  “Right now we are up to two-nil in the series with the Gold Coast, so those two games are six points that will put us on 30, I believe, so those are two massive games for us to win.” 

The Dogs will play a double header on the Gold Coast next week before returning to Sydney to take on the Bears in Penrith and the Adrenaline in Liverpool the following week.

Article written by Andrew McMurtry

The Cityview Sydney Ice Dogs have suffered a second successive loss, this time going down to the table-topping Newcastle North Stars 7-4 at the Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Centre.

The loss has seen the Dogs drop to fourth on the ladder; however they still have plenty of games in hand over their nearest rivals.

In a tough match, the Dogs rued their missed opportunities as they found it difficult to convert chances into goals, despite dominating in attack during the opening period.

The most telling passage of the period was during an Ice Dogs powerplay when the home side conceded the opening two goals of the match on the back of almost identical 2-on-1 breakaways.

The Dogs, on the other hand, went for long range slap shots, which finally paid off with four minutes left in the period when Andrew White hit a strong goal after some good lead up work from Matt Monaghan and Ricky Helmbrecht.

The Dogs stayed on the attack putting pressure on the North Stars keeper until a strong shot from Scott Stephenson rebounded for Helmbrecht to slot the Ice Dogs second and send the teams to the sheds at 2-all.

The score really did not reflect the dominance of the Dogs who led the shots on goal 24-5, and the frustration showed as skirmishes threatened to explode throughout the period.

The second period saw the Dogs straight on the attack as David Dunwoodie completed a great movement from deep within the Dogs half to breakaway and send the Dogs into the lead.  But the Dogs couldn’t hold Newcastle out for long, as they evened the scores with a neat tap in.

Some Ice Dogs ill-discipline led to the next goal for the North Stars as back-to-back powerplays were too much for the Dogs to handle, as the North Stars took a one-goal lead into the final period.

The final period was tight and tense as the Dogs tried to break the strong North Stars defence.

However, three minutes from time, the North Stars extended their lead with another 2-on-1 breakaway goal.

That was followed shortly after by a shorthanded empty netter as the Dogs tried their best to break the defence.

A goal with 90 seconds left gave the Dogs some hope of a fairytale finish, but a second empty netter put the game to rest at 7-4.

Ice Dogs Australian representative forward Scott Stephenson said the last couple of weeks had been a tough wake-up call for the Dogs and they were looking to get their season back on track from next week.

“Playing the top two teams back to back is always going to be difficult,” Stephenson said after the loss.

“We just have to look forward to the Gold Coast series and hopefully we can take a few points off them away from home.”

Next week marks the beginning of a three-match series against the Gold Coast Blue Tongues with a game at the LCC Ice Centre starting at 5pm on Saturday, before a two-game weekend the following weekend on the Gold Coast.

Article written by Andrew McMurtry

The Sydney Ice Dogs lost only their second home game of the year to last year’s Goodall Cup Champs the Melbourne Ice 7-3 in a physical match at the Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Centre.

It was a close match for the first two periods, with the teams fairly evenly matched before the Ice skipped away in the final period. 

For the first time at home this season, the away team dominated the early exchanges with only great keeping from Jimmy Herbert keeping the Ice at bay.

The Ice Dogs first real use of the puck had the fans thinking it could be their night as Captain Anthony Wilson pounced on a brilliant pass from Brett Thomas to open the scoring and have the crowd on its feet.

However, the euphoria around the rink didn’t last for long as the Ice replied just over a minute later. 

The prolonged pressure on the Dogs defensive line allowed the Ice to sneak a goal between keeper Herbert’s legs to tie up the game. 

The Dogs were lucky not to have let more goals in in the first period as Melbourne had the better run of play and appeared to be stifling the Dogs attack.

But the tough, determined Dogs defence kept repelling the strong Ice attack time after time to send the boys to the sheds at 1-all.

The second half was a different story as free end-to-end play was the name of the game.

But the Dogs defence was equally strong, shutting down strong Ice attacking raids countless times before Tomas Manco set up the second Sydney goal with a long range shot that was deflected and allowed Brook Robson to slot an easy goal. 

The Dogs had their tails up and went close moments later.  However, the crowd was well and truly behind the home team until the Ice scored back-to-back goals to hurt the Dogs.

Frustrations started to boil over as the aggression from both teams began to reach fever pitch.

Melbourne soon extended the lead to 4-2 when a loose puck turned into a one-on-one situation for the Ice.

A high stick penalty to the Dogs had them in great position minutes later and took only four seconds from the drop puck for Manco to make his stamp on the game with a long range goal to keep the Dogs within one goal at the final break.

But with the exception of Manco’s goal, it was a tough period for the Dogs who had a majority of the possession but couldn’t turn it into points. 

They would come to rue their missed chances in the final period as the Ice scored two quick goals to really take the wind out of the Dogs sails.

It became a messy period as Sydney tried to get back in the game and Melbourne tried to find the killer blow.

There was plenty of desperation from the Dogs but it wasn’t enough to get any goals back.

The final goal was scored with 0.9 seconds remaining and helped Melbourne to their third win over the Ice Dogs this year.

However, the Ice Dogs are sitting comfortably in third place on the ladder with two games in hand over their nearest rivals.

Next Saturday the Dogs are again at home at the Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Centre, this time against the table leading Newcastle North Stars.

Puck drops at 5pm.

Article written by Andrew McMurtry

The Ice Dogs have continued their great form out of Canberra last week to destroy the Mustangs 8-1 at the Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Complex.

However the win has come at a cost with bruising defender Andrew White and classy forward Todd Stephenson set to miss the important game against defending champions Melbourne Ice this weekend.

In fact four players were given an early night in the physical encounter with one Mustangs player sent to Liverpool Hospital for precautionary scans on a neck injury.

Those events overshadowed a master class by the ruthless Dogs over the substandard Mustangs and the outstanding Ice Dogs debut of import ‘Bert’ Malloy.

The Dogs looked the better team right from the outset as they put early pressure on the Mustangs. 

When the Mustangs swung possession, they seemed hesitant to shoot and the Dogs made them pay, opening the scoring through White who hit a long range slap shot to the top corner. 

The Dogs scored their second in less than 30 seconds when David Dunwoodie tapped a lobbed puck in past the keeper. 

It seemed the only thing that may cause Sydney any problems may have been their discipline as several players were sin binned early in the match, however the Mustangs attack can be summed up by their failure to even shoot on goal during a five-on-three power play. 

That didn’t last long as the Dogs scored a clever team goal via Captain Anthony Wilson following a clever lead up work from Scott Stephenson and Brook Robson.

Ice Dogs debutant Malloy played a major role in the next goal as his slap shot was deflected by Brett Thomas to extend Sydney’s lead before a Todd Stephenson tap in extended the lead to five at the break.

The hapless Mustangs pulled their keeper but they just couldn’t match it with the Dogs power and strength across the ice, as huge hits had the standing-room-only crowd making plenty of noise.

The second period saw Sydney continue their aggressive approach, with big hits being the name of the game.

However the Mustangs did themselves no favours with horrible attack easily foiled by the Ice Dogs defenders. 

It took until the last three minutes of the period for the Mustangs to open their account, but the reply was instant as the Dogs maintained their five goal lead following a break from master goal scorer Matt Monaghan nine seconds later.

Early in the third period, a huge but legal hit lead to the precautionary measures for the Mustangs defender Damien Bright as he fell heavily on the ice. 

His teammates and several of the home crowd helped him off the ice on a stretcher before he was taken to hospital for precautionary scans.

With ten minutes left in the match, Monaghan bagged his second after teaming up with Todd Stephenson to slot an easy rebound, before Malloy added the cherry, scoring an impressive backhand goal.

Some late niggle took away from an overall dominant performance from the Dogs as the comprehensively beaten Mustangs became frustrated.

Connecticut-born signing Malloy said he was looking forward to fighting for his spot in the strong Dogs line up but was happy with the first up win.

“We wanted to set the tone early, get the puck deep and play to our system, and that won the game for us.”

“We had an awesome crowd here tonight, the place was hoppin’ and it feels good to win at our home barn.”

The Ice Dogs line up against the second placed Melbourne Ice at the LCC Ice Complex this Sunday.  The puck drops at 5pm.

Article written by
Andrew McMurtry

The Sydney Ice Dogs ended a tough road trip with a hard fought 8-4 win over the Canberra Knights at the Philip Ice Arena.

The Ice Dogs dominated parts of the see-sawing match but allowed the Knights back into the match with several instances of ill-discipline, on which Canberra capitalised, scoring three of their four goals when the Dogs had a player in the sin bin.

The first period was a real arm wrestle as both teams showed plenty of enterprise, with neither team able to capitalise on good opportunities and end-to-end hockey.

There was no love lost between these two teams as big hits were the name of the game, sending the standing-room-only crowd into hysterics.

It took until the 8^th minute of the match for Captain Anthony Wilson to silence the crowd as he slapped a pass into the back of the net from a long way out.

The Dogs stepped up a gear from there, sustaining pressure on the Knights goal to be rewarded when Brook Robson scored with five minutes left in the period to make it 2-0.

However the reply was immediate as the Knights clawed one back 16 seconds later before adding a second with 24 seconds remaining in the period to send the teams to the sheds locked at 2-all.

The second period saw Canberra attacking strongly from the outset.

They were only denied by the desperation of inspirational keeper Jimmy Herbert, who was once again brilliant in the goals.

Then, against the run of play, Brett Thomas scored as hit shot deflected off the keeper and trickled over the line.

Minutes later, with the Ice Dogs under immense pressure with two men in the sin bin, Canberra’s advantage paid off to lock the scores at 3-all, despite Jimmy Herbert’s best efforts.

The Ice Dogs were next to score, as Chris Sekura took advantage of an Ice Dogs power play to tap in an easy goal.

Minutes later, star import Matt Monaghan did it all himself with a fantastic breakaway goal, which led to the Knights pulling their first-choice goalie.

Canberra scored to reduce the Dogs lead to one at the final break.

The third period was much of the same as the back and forth of the match continued.

Brook Robson extended the lead after five minutes to give the Ice Dogs a little bit of breathing space with a brilliant slap shot to the top corner.

His second of the night added yet another goal to his impressive tally for the year to nine goals from as many games.

The final five minutes of the match was tense as the Knights tried to break in vain the resolute Ice Dogs defence.

However, two goals in the final minute to Andrew White and David Dunwoodie just put icing on the victory.

The win puts the Ice Dogs back into third place on the ladder, leaping the Mustangs.

Defender Tomas Manco said the team had been a little flat on the road trip but were looking forward to going home and getting revenge on the Mustangs next week.

 “We were missing five key guys, two of them Australian players and a few imports so that made it a bit harder.  We had the legs and the numbers so that obviously helped tonight.”

 “I can’t wait to play the Mustangs because we have something to prove.  9-3 [last week] that’s a tough loss and we have to come back and go hard at them.”

 The Ice Dogs will be on home ice at the Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Rink against the fourth placed Mustangs next Sunday.  The match starts at 5pm.

Written by Andrew Mcmurtry
Ice Dogs Sports Journalist

News Update

It was a case of different story, same result for the Sydney Ice Dogs at the Liverpool Catholic Club Sports Complex on Saturday, as the boys continued their home hot streak with a 8-3 win over the Gold Coast Blue Tongues.

While the score line might suggest a demolition, it was far from it as the Ice Dog’s wrapped up a big month at home with a 4-1 record.

The first period began with some golden chances for the Dog’s, however the boys looked sluggish compared to previous weeks as both teams frustrated each other in a scoreless opening period. When the possession and the momentum started to shift, the Ice Dog’s only had goal keeper Jimmy Herbert to thank as he denied the determined Blue Tongues outfit time and time again. The highlights were Herbert gloving a powerful low slap shot from Blue Tongues star Matt Amado and shutting down a dangerous looking 2-1 breakaway. 

The second period saw a complete and startling turn-around from both teams. 

The Blue Tongues opened the scoring 44 seconds in, before the Dog’s reply less than a minute later as Chris Sekura opened the scoring for the home team.  The Blue Tongues then replied with another less than a minute later, before the Ice Dog’s took the lead for the first time in the match, through a classy flick from Todd Stephenson and a scorching slap shot from Brook Robson.

However, it wasn’t long before the Blue Tongues tied the scores up again. 

A few niggling scuffles started creeping into the match, before it exploded causing Andrew White to leave the ice with a bloodied chin, caused by a wayward Blue Tongues stick.  That moment really seemed to inspire the Ice Dogs, as Robson became the first Ice Dog to have two for the match, as he did it all himself to reclaim the lead for the home side with three minutes left in the period.

But that wasn’t all as Ricky Helmbrecht hit a long range slap shot blinder, before Todd Stephenson added the cherry with an almost identical shot a minute later to join Robson on two for the match.

The third period was much like the first, until Sekura had the crowd on their feet with his second four minutes from time. Then, to seal the victory, Billy Cliff scored his first goal for the season after a great spoil from Scott Stephenson put him in open ice. The Blue Tongues just couldn’t maintain the pressure as the Ice Dogs second period blitz was the big difference between the teams.

Canadian-born two-goal hero Chris Sekura said the team was looking forward to a tough road trip over the next couple of weeks, which will see them play two matches next weekend, including against last year’s finalists, Adelaide.

“Adelaide are going to come out firing, they always do at their home barn.  They will be a completely different team to when they came down here.  They always play tough at home.”

Next week will see an Ice Dogs away double header against the Adrenaline in Adelaide on Saturday, then backing up against the Mustangs in Melbourne on Sunday.

The Dog’s next home game will be June 12 at the Liverpool Catholic Club Sports Complex against the Melbourne Mustangs.

It was standing room only with Ice Dogs fans in full voice as the team made their first appearance of the 2011 season at home in Liverpool, taking on last year’s Goodall Cup champions; The Melbourne Ice. The Dogs however, fell just short in what proved to be an exciting, fast-paced and physically intense home opener with the final score reading 3-2 in favour of the Ice.

The Dogs looked to assert themselves physically over their opponents early on by chipping pucks into the offensive zone and following up with strong forechecking. Dogs forwards; Mitch Bye, Brook Robson and Nathan Walker received applause after delivering impressive hits to their opponents. The strategy proved effective mid-way through the period when Todd Stephenson bounced one off the netting behind Ice goalie Andrew Crowther which was gathered and finished off by Matt Monaghan to make it 1-0 to the dogs at the end of the first.

The intensity stepped up a notch in the second with a number of scuffles breaking out in front of both nets, David Dunwoodie and Obi Aduba of the Dogs and Ice respectively both spent time in the box for infractions. The scores then became 1-1 when Ice import D-man Kevin Enmore was able to bury one from right in front. Controversy then followed when Kevin Darcy of the Ice arched one towards Jimmy Herbert, the Dogs goalie gloved the puck but then lost his footing and fell backwards into his net. The Ice pleaded their case however match referee; Ivan Manco in consultation with his linesmen declared that it was not a goal.  The Ice took the lead a short time after off the stick of Joey Hughes, to make it 2-1 to the Ice to end the second period.

The Ice Dogs created a lot of opportunities at the start of the third off of good work along the boards, the Ice were equal to the task however and did an excellent job of blocking shots. The score became 3-1 when Obi Aduba was given too much time to operate in front of the Dogs net with Joey Hughes picking up the assist. The best hockey of the game was played in the final stretch of the third period as the Dogs fought tooth and nail in search of a few more scores. Todd Stephenson threaded the needle with a centring pass to Brook Robson right on the door step to put his team within 1 with 6 minutes to go. Dogs D-man; Ricky Helmbrecht and Ice forward; Joey Hughes both sat the rest of the game after tangling. The Ice Dogs took Jimmy Herbert off in favour of a sixth attacker in the final minutes but were unable to get that elusive third score in order draw level with the final score; 3-2.

Challenges now await the Dogs in the form of the Newcastle North Stars and Canberra Knights as they play back-to-back games at Liverpool on the 7th and 8th of May.

Todd Stephenson has scored his 43rd career goal (101points) in his 150th AIHL Game

The Cityview Ice Dogs have ended their season opening Melbourne road trip with a win and a loss after defeating the Mustangs 6-3 at Docklands Ice Arena on Sunday night. To come out of a road trip with a 50/50 record should give the players – and fans alike, a lot of confidence going in to the stretch of home games coming up in May. To put it in perspective; the Dogs took 8 games to register their first win in 2010, they didn’t win a road game in 2010, and they haven’t won a Sunday road game since 2008.

 The game began with early pressure from the Mustangs as they managed to put a few unchallenged shots on goal but net minder Jimmy Herbert was more than up to the task. Herbert stopped everything that came at him and denied the Mustangs the early momentum.

 Midway through the first period Todd Stephenson, who was playing his 150^th AIHL game, scored an amazing goal as he weaved his way up the middle and hit the top left corner to give the Dogs a 1-0 lead.

 The Dogs continued to dominate the first period as import Mitch Bye scored his first AIHL goal, but the Mustangs ruined the party scoring on a PP just before the break.

 Import Brook Robson broke the goose egg for the season scoring his first AIHL goal chasing down a rebound on the powerplay to restore the two goal buffer. Ex-Melbourne Ice player Jamie Bourke made it 3-2 after capitalising on his breakaway scoring bottom right on Herbert. 

 The Mustangs did level the scores with a powerplay goal but their momentum was abruptly halted as Andrew White put home a Tomas Manco shot.

 Similar to Saturday’s game, the third period saw the Dogs score on their first shift as Matt Monaghan extended the lead to 2, which he then added to as he scored his second of the night on the power play to seal the result.

 You might think that a win against the new young team in the league isn’t that great an achievement, but so far the Mustangs have managed competitive totals against the Ice and the Northstars, who only managed to better them 7-5. They also have beaten the Bears who finished fourth last year. This win really showed that the Dogs are on track for a great season and they are ready to back it up with another this coming weekend as the Dogs host the Melbourne Ice in the season opener on May 1^st.

Although a 6-2 score line might suggest a blowout, it certainly didn’t look that way out on the ice as the Cityveiw Ice Dogs put up a good display against defending champions the Melbourne Ice. 

You might think penalties were a factor – the same old story with our beloved dogs, but they were in fact very disciplined. The Ice managed to capitalise on the few extra man opportunities given to them, netting 4 powerplay goals throughout the match, but skilled net minder Jimmy Herbert certainly didn’t make it easy for the home team.  There were times when ‘the rock’ Herbert made second and third saves to shut the Ice out and keep his team in the fight.

After trailing 3-0 the Dogs opened their 2011 account with a goal from returning veteran Brett Thomas in the 2nd period. Thomas then tallied his second for the night at the start of the 3rd when Scott Stephenson stole the puck while shorthanded and backhanded a shot on net, with Thomas pouncing on the rebound.

“I didnt expect to get the puck on the penalty kill fore check and I rushed the backhand as I didn’t think I had much time… it was good that Thomo was there to clean it up and keep us in it” says Stephenson. “Getting a goal in the first minute of a period really helps set the tone and get the momentum back in our favour”.

However the Ice scored another 2 goals in the 3rd to keep them undefeated in their quest for back to back championships. Despite losing their first game of the season, the Dogs showed a lot of promise. New import Ricky Helmbrecht showed off his speed and puck handling skills as he weaved in and out of opposition players numerous times throughout the game, and the centremen showed some solid skills as they won the vast majority of the face off’s.

With many new faces in the team its hard to expect perfection in their first outing, but the new look Ice Dogs are looking dangerous and will definitely turn some heads in the coming weeks. They play the Mustangs tomorrow who are 1-2 and looking to prove they belong in this league. The Dogs are hungry to come out of this roadtrip with a win, and I’m betting tomorrow will not be a good day to be a Mustang.

The Ice Dogs have started their 2011 campaign in the best possible way by defeating the Canberra Knights 7-2 at home, during the preseason in Liverpool. The Knights were outclassed for the second time in two days having lost to the Penrith Bears the previous day.

The Ice Dogs moved the puck well, played tough physical hockey and received contributions from all players to end the game out-chancing the Knights almost 3 to 1.

Centre, Scott Stephenson opened the scoring account for the Dogs less than 2 minutes in, Chris Sekura then buried one from straight in front making it 2-0 after 3 minutes of play. The Knights tried to make it competitive, scoring mid way through the opening period however, Ice Dogs goalie Jimmy Herbert did not oblige, stopping the next 12 shots on goal during his time at the crease.

Tomas Manco scored his first of two, linking up with Todd Stephenson making it 4-1 to start the second period. Scott Stephenson then featured again putting one top shelf, before Manco scored his second off a handy Brook Robson assist to make it 6-1 at the end of the second period.

Brook Robson, who was strong in the faceoff circle all night, scored the final goal in the win impressing with a nice wrister from 35 feet out in the third period. The Knights were also able to score in the third to make the final score 7-2.

The match was not without its fireworks either, during the second period, Ice Dogs winger; Scott Herbert was sent to the penalty box after getting the better of a Knights defenseman during an altercation. Dogs’ blue-liner, Andrew White also spent time in the box after tangling with one of the new additions to the Knights roster.

When questioned about his team’s performance, Ice Dogs Captain; Anthony Wilson remarked: “I’m happy with the performance tonight. This game was about finding our feet and trying out different combinations. With guys like [Brett] Thomas and [Chris] Sekura back for us, we’ve also got some extra depth in the line up”.

Ice Dogs players; Scott and Todd Stephenson, Tomas Manco, Andrew White, Brett Thomas and Chris Sekura will now be heading to Melbourne to represent Australia on the men’s National Senior Team in the Division II world championships from the 4th-10th of April, 2011.

Todd Stephenson scores on breakaway

The BANQ Sydney Ice Dogs may have finished with the wooden spoon but you couldn’t tell that from their 10-2 performance over the Canberra Knights in their final home game of the season.  “We wanted to get a win for our loyal supporters who have grown in number this season” said Captain Anthony Wilson.

Pride was definitely on the line as the game featured plenty of action; goals, hits and the occassional tussle.   A nice way to finish a tough season but the playing group is not naive “it was great to finish on a high, but we still know we have a lot of work to do this offseason” tells American Import Matt Monaghan who had a natural hat-trick and a few assists to boot. 

The Ice Dogs started strong and never looked back as Andrew White got the puck rolling with a penalty shot goal.  Andrew White was not the only defenceman running hot with two goals Anthony Wilson also buried two quick slapshots from blueline and Chad Elliot also had a going away present to start the second period.

Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks as we pay thanks to certain people and have some special Ice Dogs TV footage to be released as well.  We will also keep the site maintained over the off-season with the latest news so be sure to check back in every once and a while.

 The BANQ Sydney Ice Dogs and Penrith Bears re-ignited the most historic rivalry dating before the AIHL in a game that had end to end action, plenty of saves, near misses, goals and some push and shove.  The Ice Dogs took and early lead at 1-0 courtesy of Imports Derek Campbell and Andrew DeCristoforo who combined for a very pretty goal as DeCristoforo pulled the puck between his legs eventually passing it to Campbell who put it home. 

If the Dogs had the momentum in the first period it was the Bears who had the puck and control in the second period however thanks to the efforts of Jimmy Herbert the scores remained 1-0 in favour of the Ice Dogs after the second.  An encounter with Penrith Bears Goalie Boucher resulted in Derek Campbell dropping his gloves and being removed from the rest of the game.  This didn’t help the Ice Dogs as Brett Nelson Bond scored on a Bears power play tying the game at 1-1.  The Bears then scored on their very next powerplay opportunity and it would be DeCristoforo again to help out his team but this time he was the one putting the puck in the net thanks to a great pass from behind Todd Stephenson’s back.  Stephenson however was also removed from the game for getting in Boucher’s way after the goal. 

That would be as close as the Dogs would get to trying to take the season series lead and will have to wait til next week as they get another shot at the Bears in Penrith with both David Dunwoodie and Andrew White back in the lineup. 

Battle of Sydney

Dave Dunwoodie in action against the Bears

 Despite being down 1-0 in the first few minutes the BANQ Sydney Ice Dogs were thriving from their last win at home and raced away with an 8-2 win that sure had everyone talking.  With a new massive banner and second chapter of “The Pound” in the stands, the Ice Dogs looked like a determined outfit and had the crowd to match.

A little luck started the barrage of goals with Tomas Manco scoring on a dump shot on net from the red line to tie up the scores at one a piece.  But from that point on it was skill and hard work that would give the Ice Dogs lead.

Matt Monaghan started his scoring spree notching the Ice Dogs second goal and was soon followed by Scottie Herbert who had a four point night himself.  With a 3-1 lead heading into the changeroom it was clear the night was far from over. 

Jim Herbert was solid in net making some key saves and adding to the Bears tough night.  Todd Stephenson put away the fourth and sixth goal for the night with Monaghan squeezing in the fifth with a nice accurate shot between Bouchers legs. 

With a 6-1 game on hand, tempers flared and Ice Dogs Andrew White and Bears Import Michal Lauko were clearly not getting along which led to an exchange of blows and like a chain reaction other players followed suit.  

David Dunwoodie faired well in his match-up until taken out by a second bears player which almost caused a full scale brawl from both benches, however after a few minutes all eventually simmered down teams returned to changerooms and then it was back to hockey. Highlights will be up on Ice Dogs TV this week.

Once play resumed ex-Ice Dogs player Jim Zvonicek scored on the powerplay to make it 6-2 but that would be as close as the Bears would get on the night as Monaghan finalised his hat-trick and Billy Cliff scored his second goal in two games leaving it at 8-2 and making for a good team/supporter photo at the end.

A different feel was in the air on Saturday night as the BANQ Sydney Ice Dogs made an outstanding comeback to defeat Canberra 8-7 at the LCC Sports Complex.  Some said it was the Ice Dogs of old.  Things were definitely different from current trends this season as the Ice Dogs opened the scoring with a hard fought goal from Todd Stephenson.  Canberra replied but Stephenson’s linemate Scottie Herbert scoredmoments later to re-establish the lead at 2-1.

Although going into the locker room at 2-2 after the first period it was clear the Ice Dogs were in charge and backed this claim up with a goal from Import Derek Campbell.  But all that momentum was taken away when after penalties to both sides forced four on four hockey and Knights Import Sean Scarborough scored two break away goals leaving the score at 4-3 after the second period.   The Knights streak continued as they added another two unanswered goals buffing their lead to 6-3.

But finally the puck started to bounce the Dogs way, literally, as David Dunwoodie smacked a rebound out of mid air to initiate the comeback with 8 minutes to go in the final period.  Next was Andrew White who skated the length of the rink out wide cutting in at the last second to deke the Canberra goalie.  With the scores now 6-5 another bounce would go the Dogs way as Billy Cliff managed to track down the rebound off a Canberra Knights Defender and scored with a hard wrist shot from the top of the circles.

The Import contingent rose again as Matt Monaghan ripped a slapshot top shelf skating down the wing, followed by Derek Campbell who would notch what turned out to be the game winner.  The Knights scored another goal to bring it within one but Sydney held on and narrowed the gap on the standings with the Knights.

Make sure you get to next weekends game at the LCC Sports Complex Saturday July 17th as the underdogs look to steal some points away from rivals Penrith Bears.

Dogs take on the tongues this weekend

At 3-0 down after the first period, it was not looking to promising to the home side at the LCC Sports Complex.  The bounces were clearly going the Bluetongues way scoring 2 out of their first two shots from some tough angles. 

That didn’t stop the BANQ Sydney Ice Dogs from staging a comeback in the opening minutes of the second and middle period thanks to the efforts of the import combination of Matt Monaghan and Andrew DeCristoforo.  Not only did it happen early on into the second period but both goals were one after another and a 3-0 deficit was cut to 3-2 and the momentum was back in the Ice Dogs favour.

James Esson had his first crack at goal for the Ice Dogs replacing usual frontman in between the pipes Jimmy Herbert after 2-0 down.  Esson came up trumps on two occassions leaping across the net to stop a second shot and also shutting down a breakaway to keep his team in it.  “We are definitely pleased with the way Esson stepped in and took control” says Coach Mark Stephenson.

Unfortunately Esson couldn’t stop everything for the Ice Dogs and the Bluetongues battled back to extend the lead to 4-2 as the puck just trickled over the line as Import Dallas Costanza tucked away the rebound off the original shot. 

The discipline again was much better from the Ice Dogs however they did find themselves on the penalty kill but this time forward Scott Stephenson managed to beat defenseman Ross Howe 1 on 1 to then score from a tough angle on Gold Coast to get his team 1 goal away from tieing the game up.

The Dogs kept on pressing with many near misses but Gold Coast would score one more goal with around 4 minutes left in the final period to finish the game 5-3.  The Gold Coast Bluetongues then went onto defeat the Penrith Bears 4-2 on the Sunday.  Highlights from the Ice Dogs game will be up on Ice Dogs TV later this week.

Canberra scrape away with 3-1 win

Canberra’s Import Goalie Lowe tends to turn it up a notch against the Ice Dogs and last Saturday night was no exception leading his side to a 3-1 win in Canberra.  The Ice Dogs played a far better disciplined game and stepped up defence deadlocking the scores at 0-0 after the first period.  The Penalty Kill was a lot stronger by the BANQ Ice Dogs until Canberra’s import Sean Scarborough broke away from the pack and scoring a back hand shot against Jim Herbert.

Despite the goal Jim Herbert had stepped up his game an was playing with a lot more confidence making some key saves in the game.  Canberra however snuck another goal past him before the end of the second leaving a two goal deficit for the Ice Dogs to recover from.  Meanwhile at the other end of the Ice the Dogs were peppering the net with shots but just couldn’t find the back of the net.

Defenceman Dave Dunwoodie tried to find some momentum for his side going toe to toe with Stu Philps from the Knights. Dogs Import Matt Monaghan put his hand up and scored with five minutes left in the game giving his struggling side some momentum and the upper hand until Scarborough broke away from the pack again scoring on a breakaway to make the final score 3-1.

Despite addressing discipline and the penalty kill the Ice Dogs still need to work on generating offence and scoring some goals to start winning some hockey games.

Wilson celebrates vs Gold Coast

The BANQ Ice Dogs broke their dry spell Saturday night at home in front of a passionate ice dogs crowd with a convincing  4-1 win.  Besides a slight altercation with the Gold Coast bench in the second period, the Dogs had played their most disciplined hockey to date but we’ll get to that part shortly. 

Import Chad Elliot opened the scoring with a great top shelf goal on the powerplay set up by Derek Campbell.  Campbell then contributed to the second goal as he shot it through Bluetongues goaltender Luke Fiveash for it to be laying on the line for linemate Scott Stephenson to pop it in.  That left the Dogs in front 2-0 at the end of the first.  Goaltender Jim Herbert was on his A game stepping up and making some crucial saves to cement the early lead.  

Second goal vs Bluetongues

 Anthony Wilson almost made it 3-0 however his goal was disallowed with a man in the goalies crease.  Scott Stephenson was set up by Derek Campbell again to then make it 3-0.  Gold Coast Bluetongues Import Dallas Costanzo took care of Scott Stephenson with a big  clean hit that sent him flying over the boards and into the Gold Coast bench which erupted into a bit of a malete  when younger brother Todd and Derek Campbell came in to get him.  

Stephenson drops in on Gold Coast bench

The homeside found themselves with a man in the box and the Bluetongues found themselves a goal closer as Import Mike Mcrae buried from in front after his first attempt was blocked by Herbert. 

But that was as close as the Bluetongues would get as Ice Dogs Todd Stephenson put the puck away to ensure a 4-1 victory and their first win of the season.

Dogs downed by defending champs

The BANQ Ice Dogs are still searching for their first win after falling to the defending AIHL champions 7-5 Saturday night in Adelaide.

Hungry for their first win the Banq Ice Dogs wasted no time getting on the score board as forward Scott Stephenson buried the first goal thanks to a nice set up from import Derek Campbell in the first 90 seconds of the game.

Despite the Adenaline responding minutes later on the powerplay, the Sydney Ice Dogs raced out to a 3-1 lead, courtesy of Andrew White and David Dunwoodie.  White’s goal came on the powerplay with a laserbeam ‘s wristshot placed nicely to the topshelf.  Dunwoodie’s tally came from a rebound from import Andrew DeCristoforo’s original shot. 

Unfortunately for the BANQ boys, Adelaide capitalised on some sloppy plays from the Dogs resulting in some costly turnovers that saw the struggling side down 4-3 by the end of the first period.

No goals were to be had in the second period by either side but plenty of action with Adelaide’s import Cam Dion stirring up trouble by running Dogs goaltender Jim Herbert, which almost resulted in an all in brawl.

“The boys were really charging at the beginning but I think we lost sight of what got us there to begin with which was the game plan and hard work”  says Rookie Brenton Tripp.

Hard work was what would be needed to bounce back from the deficit.  Adelaide knew this as well getting the next goal to make the scoreline 5-3.  Scott Stephenson was at it again scoring from a highlight reel goal off a spinorama slapshot to bring the Dogs within one.

“I was determined to give my best tonight more so for our dedicated supporters back in Sydney who have got our backs and sticking by us through this tough period” remarks Stephenson.

Adelaide would get the next two goals to cement the lead and the game.  Matt Monaghan put in the last goal for the Ice Dogs to keep the score respectable but it would be back to the drawing board for the pups.

Bears win 2-1

Still searching for their first win of the season the BANQ Ice Dogs suffered a big blow this weekend losing to an understrengthed Bears outfit 2-1 on Saturday night, followed by an embarrassing 9-2 loss to Melbourne on Sunday night.

Whilst the Ice Dogs have had a very busy and tough schedule off the bat it definitely wasn’t the start to the season or home opening weekend the Ice Dogs were looking for especially in front of a good Liverpool crowd on the Saturday night.  Captain Anthony Wilson managed to score the two goals in the game against Melbourne showing some character leadership in the third period.  “I think we have analysed enough and it is time to take some action.  We can’t back down…not now” said Wilson. 

 ”Our special teams (with or without a man advantage) is our big issue at the moment” explains a calm Derek Campbell, who has been on pro league teams in this position before who have managed to come out of it and win a championship.  On top of special teams being an issue that needs addressing the team also needs to gel as a unit at both ends of the ice.

Saturday night, the Bears charged off to a 1-0 lead with a powerplay goal.  Andrew White replied for the Ice Dogs with a goal from in front assisted by linemates Todd Stephenson and David Dunwoodie.  The scores were deadlocked at 1-1 until the third period where the bears scored thier second goal and held on to win despite a barrage of shots from the Ice Dogs in the last couple of minutes.  Ex-Ice Dogs goaltender Gabe Robledo stood on his head and the Dogs just couldn’t seem to capitalise in front.

Come Sunday the Ice Dogs managed to have solid start and had the momentum early on until they ran into penalty trouble which you can’t afford to do against one of the best powerplays in the league at the moment.  Before they could blink it was a 3-0 scoreline to Melbourne after the first period all being powerplay goals.  The early lead seemed to crush the spirits of the home team who came out flat in the second to be behind by 6-0 , fifteen minutes later.  “We panicked and lost sight of our game plan which earned us momentum in the first 5 minutes.  I think the boys have realised now that there is no silver bullet or easy way out and we have to work hard, develop urgency and be patient” says coach Mark Stephenson.

The Dogs are off to Adelaide and Melbourne next weekend and have 2 practices this week to address some issues to pull off a win this weekend.

Defenceman Tomas Manco finishing his check on the play

After losing 8-3 to the first placed Canberra Knights on Saturday night in Canberra, the Dogs needed to bounce back against Newcastle on the Sunday.  Rallying from 3-1 down the BANQ Ice Dogs eventually scored 5 unanswered goals over the course of the game to take a 6-3 lead until the Northstars took advantage of a few powerplays to stage a late comeback and win in a shootout.

Newcastle Northstars Defenceman Chris Belanger worked his lethal shot on Newcastle’s powerplay to help establish the 2-0 lead for the home team.

Linemates Chris Sekura and Scottie Herbert were on fire.  Scottie Herbert scored the first goal for the Dogs set up by Sekura.  At 3-1 down it was then Sekura who put in a rebound on the rush from Scott Stephenson’s slapshot.  In a tit for tat contest Herbert levelled the scores in the second period with a nifty backhand shot top shelf on Northstars Matt Ezzy.

At the start of the third the BANQ Ice Dogs came out firing scoring three goals in three minutes, two of the goals coming from Chris Sekura with his third goal a great top corner shot.

Sekura's line comes back to the bench to celebrate his first career AIHL Hat-trick

The Dogs played even harder but were given some unfortunate penalties where the Northstars scored their fourth and fifth goal.  With the tables turned the Northstars leveled the score with approximately three minutes left in the game and it was onto a shootout.  Andrew DeCristoforo scored on the first shot but the Northstars buried two of their own to give them their thirs shootout win in as many games.

“Tonight was a better indication of how we can play, however we need to focus on playing like that every single shift. We aren’t panicking as there is still a long season ahead and we are looking forward to getting the ball rolling at our hompe opener this Saturday against the Bears” says Ice Dogs forward Scott Stephenson.

The Battle of Sydney should be staged to be one thriller of a game with both the Bears and the Dogs determined to move up the standings.

Chris Sekura finishing his check on Greg Oddy. photo:F Kutsche

Dogs lose 4-1 in Saturday nights clash against the Ice

In front of a packed “icehouse” of 1,300 fans the Ice Dogs had quite the challenge in front of them.  New import Andrew DeCristoforo however thought otherwise scoring the opening goal of the game a couple of minutes on.  Melbourne tied it minutes later on the powerplay locking the teams at 1-1 after the first period trouble.

Melbourne stepped their game up a notch in the second period and capitalised on the numerous powerplays(when the other team is a man down due to a penalty) that went their way.   Melbourne’s Lliam Webster (also a national team player) was responsible for some damage helping his side to  a 3-1 lead after two periods.

New import Derek Campbell was given a game misconduct for an equipment infraction (his chin strap was a little too low to the referees liking) this saw him in the box for 10 minutes.  To make matters worse the Dogs were handed an extra innovative 6 minute penalty just before the end of the second meaning they startedthe third period missing Campbell and being a man down. 

The Ice added one more goal to their tally to make the final score 4-1.  Derek Campbell mixed it up with a Melbourne player who found himself undressed with his jersey over his head, but that was the only win the Dogs would walk away with for the night. 

Despite the scoreline Jim Herbert was very strong between the pipes for his side.

Game Reviews

Last weekend the Ice Dogs took to the road defeating the Adelaide Adrenaline 3-1 on the Saturday night before flying to Melbourne to lose to the Ice 4-1. Both games were in front of packed out crowds as it was the final home game for both teams before they playoff against each other next weekend in the Finals series in Newcastle.

The Dogs played smart and kept out of the penatly box against a high flying Adrenaline outfit capitalising on their opportunities to take a 2-1 lead after the first two periods. Both goals came from the combination of Todd Stephenson and Imports Jamie Galbraith and Matt Monaghan. Monaghan put the final nail in the coffin giving their line one goal each in the match.

A fight between Ice Dogs Defenceman and ex-Australian team defenceman Adelaide’s Luke Thilthorpe gave the home town something to cheer on as the two players duked it out blow for blow before the Dogs walked away with victory.

Sydney were unable to take the same approach against Melbourne. Despite shutting the Ice out 0-0 after the first period, it didn’t take long for Melbourne to start picking up steam and taking advantage of some inexcusable Ice Dogs errors.

Unfortunately for the Ice Dogs they were unable to make the playoffs this year but they won’t be taking off to the golf course in a hurry “We are definitely dissappointed with the outcome of this season. We have to come back next year better prepared and ready to play” admits goaltender Jimmy Herbert. The Ice Dogs will be in the gym furiously as some players wait for Australian team invites and others are preparing to settle the score come next April when it all starts over again.

Game Review

Close But No Cigar

The Sydney Ice Dogs clawed back from a five goal deficit in the first period to score five unanswered goals and tie the game, forcing a shootout where the visiting Adelaide Adrenaline escaped with the shootout win 6-5. With the playoffs out of reach for the Ice Dogs there was nothing left but pride on the line which was put to the test when Adelaide went on a scoring spree putting Sydney deep in the doghouse five goals down.

“It wasn’t the best start to a game and we were far from playing our best hockey which we addressed in the change room after the first period” explains Todd Stephenson who scored the first goal in the Ice Dogs comeback. Not far behind Stephenson was team mate Scottie Herbert who notched the second goal from a set-up by veteran Chris Sekura.

Of course no comeback would be complete with out a bit of good old fashioned mongrel. “When we started finishing our body checks and getting under their skin, it opened up the ice and allowed us more room to attack the net” explains Jamie Galbraith who sniped the third goal to leave the second period at 5-3 in favour of Adelaide.

By the third period the LCC Sports Complex was on the edge of their feet cheering their Dogs on as Stephenson and Galbraith both put up their second goals of the night. The Dogs could have won the game in regulation time when Import Matt Monaghan hit the puck out of mid air into the net, but the goal was disallowed due to a high stick on the play leaving the game to end in a shootout.

One of Australia’s best forwards Greg Oddy scored on the first shot of the shootout for Adelaide and despite Jimmy Herbert’s two big saves afterwards the pups failed to score on their end allowing Adelaide to salvage the win.
Next week the Ice Dogs are on the road to Adelaide and Melbourne to complete the season.

Game Preview

This Sunday August 2nd at 5pm the first place Newcastle Northstars come to town to take on the Dogs. The Ice Dogs will be hungry for a big win against the Northstars who they have failed to beat so far this season.

Every spectator who comes to the game will also get an entry into the draw for a chance to win Scott Stephenson’s stick signed by the Ice Dogs team to be given out at the end of the game. Click here to find out more

Game starts at 5pm at the Liverpool Catholic Club Sports Complex.

Game Review

Dogs Knock Down Northstars

The Sydney Ice Dogs took down the league leading Northstars 3-2 last Sunday night at the Liverpool Catholic Club Sports Complex. With 5 Ice Dogs out of the line-up due to suspensions and injuries it was going to be a tough slog for the home side, especially when Casey Minson from the Northstars got his team ahead by one early on. Canadian Import Brock Backus however took care of Minson minutes later by dropping the gloves.

Ice Dogs rookie defenceman Shannon Macgregor replied for the Dogs with his first ever AIHL career goal leaving the scores locked at 1-1 before the first intermission.
Ice Dogs goaltender Jimmy Herbert was sensational in net, making desperate kick saves to keep his team in contention. Jimmy wasn’t the only James on fire as Import Jamie Galbraith scored a slippery goal upstairs on national team goaltender Matt Ezzy escaping two of the Newcastle defenders.

Sydney knew the night was far from over and Newcastle’s Import John Halverson confirmed that notion when he tied things up with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
The Dogs held their composure and it would be Jimmy Herbert’s brother Scottie who would put home the game winner as the Pups walked away with the win.

Scottie Herbert after scoring the game winning goal.

The Sydney Ice Dogs will play their Last Home Game of the year August 16th Sunday night against the Adelaide Adrenaline at the Liverpool Catholic Club Sports Complex. Game starts at 5pm, Adults are $12 and Kids are $6.

Game Preview - Double the points, Double the Action

The Sydney Ice Dogs season is on the line this Sunday night when they face off against the travelling Melbourne Ice in a double point decider. Not only will the 6 points up for grabs make a huge difference to the Ice Dogs position on the competition table but it is actually Melbourne who they are battling with for a top four playoff spot.

(As all teams play each other four times in a season and Melbourne only travels once this year to play the Ice Dogs instead of twice, the game is therefore worth double the points).
“This game will be, by far the biggest of the year and you can expect the guys [Ice Dogs] to come out firing at a million miles an hour” tells Captain Anthony Wilson.
It is that time of year where teams and fans start pulling out their calculators and working out who needs to beat who with a handful of games remaining and three or four teams fighting for a playoff spot. “It really is the most exciting time of year in the Australian Ice Hockey League, as every game counts and it definitely shows with the higher speed and intensity that comes from the players” adds Ice Dogs supporter and Liverpool Saints under 13s ice hockey coach Mick Lynch.

The Dogs are charging from their 5-3 win last Saturday night against the Penrith Bears, building on their recent winning streak. The game against Melbourne this Sunday is one of three remaining home games left in the season at the LCC Sports Complex in Liverpool with warm-up starting at 4:45pm. The last time these two teams met it was in Melbourne and the Dogs escaped with a 5-4 shootout win.

Adults are $12 and Children are $6.  For more information visit www.icedogs.com.au/tickets

Game Report

Melbourne 5

Sydney 3

Game Review

Double Trouble For Ice Dogs

The winning streak comes to an end for the Ice Dogs as they were defeated by the Melbourne Ice 5-3 last Sunday night.

At times the game could have gone either way with three of the Ice Dogs scoring opportunities hitting the post whilst Melbourne were treated to some lucky bounces.
The crowd got their fair share of excitement with two fights where arguably the home team finished on top. However the two fights cost Sydney in the sin bin and that is where Melbourne took full advantage.

The Melbourne Ice dominated during the man advantage and scored 3 unanswered goals. Sadly, the Ice Dogs saw the game slipping away and attempted to fight back and managed to score a second goal to make the score 5 to 2 at the end of the second period.
The Ice Dogs were far more disciplined in the third period and Canadian Import Jassi Sangha managed to pull back a third goal and his second of the game but this was to be the final score.

Game Preview

The last battle of Sydney for 2009 between the Sydney Ice Dogs and the Penrith Bears. Flying high after two big wins in a row last weekend the Dogs are looking to make it three as they take on the Bears. Saturday nights game is the first of four remaining home game in a row for the Ice Dogs before the season closes and they will be looking to make use of the home advantage to sneak back into playoffs as they sit just one point shy of fourth place.

Game starts at 5pm this Saturday night July 11th. Bring a jumper and the family for a great game of Ice Hockey.

Game Report

Icedogs 5

Bears 2

Game Review

*The editorial review will be written by Scott Stephenson as per usual and posted here shortly after the game.

It was all smiles in Liverpool on Sunday night after the Sydney Ice Dogs defeated the Knights 4-1 in Canberra on Saturday before taking down the Adelaide Adrenaline 5-3 at Liverpool.

The back to back wins now puts the Dogs one point out of a playoff position and with four home games in a row to come the Ice Dogs are determined to bring it home hard. “Every game counts now, and that is definitely starting to show in the hockey we are playing” said Assistant Captain Andrew White who scored the second goal in Canberra off a booming slap shot.

White’s fellow defensemen were the forefront of Sydney’s attack on Saturday as both David Dunwoodie and Patrick Hornacek sniped a goal each in the Ice Dogs 4-1 win over Canberra.

But as Sunday rolled around it was back to business, as the second place Adelaide side came to town hot off the stove with their 4-3 win over Newcastle the night previous. “We knew we had to take the game to them, finish every hit and take the puck hard to the net” tells Canadian Import Brock Backus who came out of the weekend with 7 points.

Backus’s Canadian counterpart Jassi Sangha was also lethal scoring the first and fourth goal for the Pups with his laser beam of a shot.

Ice Dogs youngster Beau Niha was originally sent out to cause a bit of trouble for the Adrenaline, but decided to bring more than just a few thunderous hits when he put home the third goal for his side.

Just as the Dogs thought they had the game in the bag Adelaide leapt back onto attack scoring two flashy goals to get back to within one goal at 4-3. After much end to end action, it was Sydney who had the final say as Todd Stephenson buried the fifth and final goal to solidify a successful weekend for the Sydney Ice Dogs.

Be sure to get to one of the four remaining games to see some hard hitting and fast paced ice hockey action as the Sydney Ice Dogs contend for a playoff spot. For more information on games, tickets and location go to www.icedogs.com.au/venue.html . Next home game is this Saturday 5pm at the Liverpool Catholic Club Sports Complex.

Striking from the back end the Ice Dogs defence led the charge in Canberra Saturday night as Dave Dunwoodie, Andrew White and Patrick Hornacek scored each in a 4-1 win over the Canberra Knights.

Veteran goaltender Al Becken jumped in on the defensive action rendering the Knights scoreless until the third period when they finally registered their goal for the night. David Dunwoodie drew first blood scoring top shelf on a break away with a man in the penalty box four minutes into the second period.

Andrew White continued his hot streak scoring minutes later with a slap shot on the power play. Sydney walked into the change room after the second period with the most dangerous lead in hockey, a 2-0 score line. With the season on the line and a voodoo to break against the Knights, the Dogs were not going to take the foot off the pedal.

The Knights however had other plans, determined to please their frenzied fans they managed to get within a goal with ten minutes remaining in the game. The momentum shifted noticeably in the Knights favour, but Becken stood on his head and weathered the storm.

With defence being the new attack on the night Patrick Hornacek made the most of a set up from Brock Backus putting him right in front of net alone with Lowe. Hornacek wasted no time sneaking the puck between Lowe’s legs to give the pups some breathing room at 3-1.

Brock Backus then added another point to his night scoring an empty net goal to seal the win tight 4-1. The Dogs now gear up to face Adelaide on Sunday night after their win against the Northstars 4-3 in Newcastle. Game starts 5pm at the Liverpool Catholic Club Sports Complex.

Veteran Chris Sekura has returned to re-ignite the Ice Dogs line up helping the Ice Dogs to a 4-1 win over the Gold Coast Bluetongues on Saturday night at Liverpool. It was then on the road to Newcastle on Sunday to battle with the first place Northstars where the Dogs fell short by a goal.

Saturday nights game was do or die as the pups needed a big win to break their losing streak and keep their playoff hopes alive. The Dogs needed to get back their mongrel and there was no shortage of big hits and scoring opportunities by both teams.

Jassi Sangha scored the first goal early on for the Ice Dogs but it would be defenceman Andrew White who would steal the show scoring two back to back goals in the third period with less than five minutes to win and secure the game. His defence partner and Captain Anthony Wilson put home an empty net goal to finish off the Bluetongues.

The mongrel continued in Newcastle the following night with White on a roll starting the game with a top corner goal from the blue line during a Northstars penalty. The cheering didn’t last long when a bad bounce resulted in an own goal, and if that wasn’t enough help for the Northstars the Ice Dogs found themselves in penalty trouble and down 3-1 in no time.

That didn’t phase Sydney as they continued to step up the physical play and attack the Newcastle net. Ice Dogs top goal scorer Jassi Sangha found another use for his magical hands when he got the better end of a Newcastle defenceman in a fight. Fellow import Matthew Monaghan got the Dogs within one goal with 8 minutes left, but Newcastle managed to hold on for the 3-2 win. “Despite the loss this Sunday I am proud of the guys as we are starting to play like the team we can be” finished Coach Mark Stephenson.

Finish off next weekend on a high as the Ice Dogs take on the Adelaide Adrenaline next Sunday night at 5pm at the Liverpool Catholic Club Sports Complex.

The slump continues for the Ice Dogs after losing 9-2 and 8-4 against the Gold Coast Bluetongues in Gold Coast last weekend. The losing streak has been extended to five losses now, which has not happened to the troubled pups in a very long time.

“I think we forgot what made our team successful and competitive in recent years and that is a hard working, hard hitting in your face hockey culture” explains Captain Anthony Wilson. “We addressed this before Sunday’s game and started to look like the Ice Dogs again in the first two periods”.
Wilson was not wrong. The Ice Dogs came out flying on the Sunday exerting a more physical style of play which left the scores tied at one a piece after the first period. American Import Matt Monaghan scored the go ahead goal for the Dogs at the start of the second stanza which was his second of three goals for the weekend.

League leading goal scorer Brad Smulders scored to lock it up at 2-2 for the Bluetongues and again just minutes later to regain the lead 3-2. Monaghan replied to make it 3-3 before penalty trouble put the Dogs on the back foot and the Bluetongues in the driver’s seat allowing the Gold Coast to consolidate a double header victory.

The Gold Coast Bluetongues come to the LCC Sports Complex this Saturday night June 27 and the Ice Dogs are determined to turn their season around. Puck drops at 5:00pm so bring a jumper and some friends for what looks to be a very physical and redeeming game.

The Ice Dogs were in for a tough weekend of ice hockey and unfortunately were unable to come out victorious losing 6-3 to the Canberra Knights in Canberra on Saturday and 6-4 to Newcastle on Sunday at home in Liverpool.

With a depleted line up due to sickness and injuries the pups didn’t help themselves down in Canberra as they amassed a whopping 68 minutes in penalties in comparison to the Knights measly 24.

Canadian Jassi Sangha calmly sniped the first goal of the game for Sydney before the storm of penalties would give Canberra’s Fin Marco Raita the chance to even the match with the man advantage.

The Knights managed to add to their tally, scoring with 12 seconds left in the first period before Dogs top defenceman Andrew White was kicked out of the game for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The more the Dogs tried to reason with the referees the more trouble they found themselves in facing another three player ejections before the night was out. Despite the penalties the Ice Dogs kept on barking and were tit for tat with the confident Knights. The Ice Dogs did look like a chance at the start of final period as David Dunwoodie put home a ripping slap shot in hope of encouraging a comeback from 4-3.

The Canberra Knights had other plans and finished the job to make it 3 wins over the Ice Dogs this season which is a first in AIHL history for Canberra giving a bruised and battered Sydney side a lot to think about on the 3 hour journey home.

Onto the first place Newcastle Northstars the very next day and the Ice Dogs were met with yet another challenge when Newcastle charged off to a commanding two goal lead in the opening stanza. David Dunwoodie knew what to do scoring in similar fashion to the night previous.

American Import Matthew Monaghan levelled the game as he converted his break away goal shooting the puck off the top bar and in over the Newcastle goaltender Matt Ezzy’s glove.

Just as the feisty pups could sniff a lead, Newcastle’s Import John Halverson replied on his own breakaway goal to make the score 3-2. Ice Dogs Jason Gibson staged a second comeback for his team in impressive style scoring right off the draw hitting the far post and in catching Ezzy off guard.

The Ice Dogs relapsed their way back to the penalty box at the worst time possible allowing the Northstars to get two more goals and eventually a 6-4 win.

As we hit the halfway point of the season the playoff race has tightened up and Sydney will need two big wins this weekend as they travel to the Gold Coast to keep in it.

The flight home Sunday night was a slow and painful trip for the Ice Dogs as they narrowly defeated the Melbourne Ice in a shootout 5-4 on Saturday but were flattened 8-3 by the undefeated Adelaide Adrenaline on Sunday.

The Ice Dogs will need to go back to more than the drawing board to find their skates again,”I think this road trip really put things in perspective, we have to be mentally prepared every play to get the small things done in order to get the results we want at the end of the game” explains Import Jamie Galbraith who scored the first goal against Melbourne.

Canadian Import Jassi Sangha managed to get his Sydney side ahead scoring two breakaway goals. One of the goals Sangha slid the puck through the legs of three Melbourne defenders before dazzling the goaltender and scoring to stretch a comfortable 4-1 lead.

But before the pups could blink the Ice responded with two flashy goals to close the gap to 4-3. With 30 seconds to go Dogs goalie Jimmy Herbert robbed Melbourne’s import Lacasse with a glove save. Unfortunately the Dogs did not get off that easy when Melbourne tied the game with 0.9 seconds on the clock forcing a shootout.

Sangha was up first in the shootout and scored with ease. Herbert shut out all of Melbourne’s three shootout attempts to silence the crowd and give Sydney the win.
A slow start in the opening period against a high flying Adelaide unit left Sydney down 3-0. Again it would be Sangha to give the Ice Dogs some life to finish the first period down 3-1. The Ice Dogs showed glimpses of crawling back into the game but between spending too much time in the penalty box and defensive zone lapses the Adrenaline took full charge running away with the game.
Captain Anthony Wilson missed the road trip due to a groin injury but hopes to return at full strength for the Ice Dogs next home game against the defending champions the Newcastle Northstars.

Canadian Import Jassi Sangha managed to get his Sydney side ahead scoring two breakaway goals against Melbourne and the Dog's first against Adelaide.

The Sydney Ice Dogs will have to get their act together before travelling to Melbourne and Adelaide next weekend after a disappointing performance in a 3-1 loss against Canberra last Sunday night.

Off the mark the Dogs came out firing as Scott Stephenson put away his first goal at home off a set-up from Import Jamie Galbraith. The Dogs might have headed into the locker room with a one goal lead, but the Knights came back out into the second period with 2 goals.

Ice Dogs top defenseman Andrew White dropped the gloves with Canberra’s Captian Mark Rummakainen in hopes of building some momentum as the two went punch for punch before ref’s intervened.

As the players went hit for hit both goaltender’s Jimmy Herbert (Ice Dogs) and Ryan Lowe (Knights Import) traded save for save. Herbert managed to stop two breakaways and even a 2 on 1, but it would be Lowe who would steal the show and shut out several close attempts from the Sydney attack up to the dying seconds.
The Knights third and final goal was an empty net goal scored with 0.2 seconds left in the game as Sydney had pulled their goalie in exchange for an extra attacker which in the end backfired.

The pups will be on what is regarded as one of the toughest road trips in the league facing Melbourne next Saturday before taking on the Adelaide Adrenaline on the Sunday.

Ice Dogs Defenseman David Dunwoodie doing his best to dodge the Knights defenders

For the last two seasons the Penrith Bears have had the upper hand over the Sydney Ice Dogs winning 7 out of 8 encounters since 2006. But the Sydney Ice Dogs have somewhat reversed the curse defeating the Bears last Sunday night 5-1 at the Penrith Ice Palace.

Missing Captain Anthony Wilson, import Matthew Monaghan and veteran defenseman Patrick Hornacek to injuries the Ice Dogs were in for a challenge.

Canadian Import Jassi Sangha picked up where he left off from last weekend putting the first goal up for the Ice Dogs. The Bears replied just minutes later to level the score at one a piece.

The Bears marker seemed to have sparked something in the feisty pups as the physicality of the game increased tremendously and in the usual fashion the Ice Dogs accustomed themselves to the sin bin. Andrew White would set up Scott Stephenson for a tip in on the power play to increase the lead by one.

White then when onto score shorthanded firing a blistering slap shot past the Bears net minder as he was flying down the wing in the second period.

After that it became the Herbert’s show as dog’s goaltender Jimmy Herbert shut the doors on the troubled bears while his brother and forward Scottie Herbert put home the fifth and final goal.

The Sydney Ice Dogs face off against the Canberra Knights this coming Sunday at the Liverpool Catholic Club Sports Complex, puck drops at 5pm.

Canadian Import Jassi Sangha looks to be settling in, as he tallied a hat trick last Saturday night in the Sydney Ice Dogs 6-1 win over the visiting Penrith Bears at the Liverpool Catholic Club Sports Complex.

Sangha started his scoring spree a few minutes into the opening frame with a blistering slap shot from out far. Determined to redeem themselves after last weeks defeat the Penrith Bears answered back not too long after capitalising on an Ice Dogs penalty. Tied at 1-1, the Canadian struck two more times to give the Ice Dogs a comfortable 3-1 lead and his first Australian Ice Hockey League hat-trick. “It was important for us to get the win tonight, we seem to be coming together as a team and that will benefit us further along in the season” added Sangha.

With a 3-1 score line the Sydney rivalry was re-ignited as the Bears Goaltender did not take too kindly to a collision with Ice Dogs forward Todd Stephenson, in which the two exchanged “gloves” before the referee’s would intervene. Stephenson would later score the final goal for the Ice Dogs to finish off the 6-1 victory.

The Dogs will face the Bears in Penrith next week, before the Canberra Knights come to town Sunday May 24th at the LCC Sports Complex.

A classic Australian Ice Hockey League rivalry kicked off the Sydney Ice Dogs weekend as they defeated the Penrith Bears 5-1 last Saturday in Penrith, before the Canberra Knights rode into town to steal a 3-2 shootout victory at home in Liverpool on the Sunday.

It has happened twice now this season where the pups have sealed victory in the first of a doubleheader weekend to fall short on the Sunday night. Despite outshooting the Knights 36-10, they could not seem to finish the job in regulation time. This worked in Canberra’s favour as their new Californian Goaltender Ryan Lowe was hot and with the majority of the play spent in Canberra’s end the ice was pretty scrappy and not the best to manoeuvre in a shootout. Canberra’s Finish import Marko Raita scored first in the shootout and that was all it took to win as Lowe shut out all three Dogs shooters for the win. “We played solid defensively which is something we stressed after last weekend, but this weekend we didn’t capitalise in front of their net” added Australian and Ice Dogs defenseman Andrew White.

Next Saturday night will be an intense and physical rematch between the Penrith Bears and the Sydney Ice Dogs at LCC Sports Complex in Liverpool. If you ever wanted to check out an Ice Hockey game this would be the one. Game starts at 5:00pm, Adults entry is $12 and Kids entry is $6 and be sure to wear a jumper at the game!

The Sydney Ice Dogs raced off to a flying start last weekend with a 6-1 win over the Gold Coast Bluetongues at home at the Liverpool Catholic Club (LCC) Sports Complex, but couldn’t finish off the Newcastle Northstars on the Sunday Night when they blew a 3-0 lead to lose 5-3 in Newcastle.

With the return of five national team representatives back from tour and all four North American Imports signed the Sydney Ice Dogs were locked and loaded for their match up against the Gold Coast Bluetongues. Canadian import Jamie Galbraith got his team [Ice Dogs] charging as he scored his first goal on Australia soil midway through the opening period. Gold Coast replied early in the second period whilst Sydney was busy in the penalty box levelling the score at 1-1.

That would be the last of the Bluetongues for the rest of the evening when the Ice Dogs buried three more goals (scored by defenseman Patrick Hornacek, import Brock Backus and Captain Anthony Wilson) leaving the second period at 4-1. Despite the score line the action didn’t stop with plenty of big hits, the odd scuffle and some nifty team work from both sides. The Liverpool crowd provided a great atmosphere for their home team to put away two more goals both from the combination of Todd Stephenson and Brock Backus in the third period (which is the last period of the game) to round out a perfect start to the season.

The Dogs picked up right where they left off at the start of their next derby in Newcastle the following night. Ice Dogs import Jassi Sangha opened the pups account as he manoeuvred around the last defender to get in for a close range shot that was a little too quick for the Northstars goaltender Matt Ezzy. Sydney would peak at 3-0 with two more tallies from American forward Matt Monaghan and Scott Stephenson before Newcastle managed to scrape their first one with a minute left in the first frame. Newcastle’s first goal proved to be the turning point of the game as they moved onto the offensive in the second and third period capitalising on the Dogs errors scoring four more unanswered goals. The Ice Dogs have a bit of sharpening up to do this week before they encounter the Canberra Knights next Sunday night May 3rd, 5:00pm at the LCC Sports Complex.