The Melbourne Ice have continued in their march towards a second consecutive Goodall Cup with a strong victory over the Gold Coast Blue Tongues on Saturday night.
Melbourne started out the stronger of the two sides with Jason Baclig scoring the opener.
Stu Denman and Matt Armstrong were the heroes for the home side, with Armstrong proving stoic in defence and Denman ensuring that the slim lead the home side had remained intact.
The Ice continued to build chances towards the end of the period but were forced to settle for a 1-0 scoreline at the end of the first period.
The second period took a similar form to the first with Baclig and Joey Hughes continuing to pepper Luke Fiveash’s goal without reward.
The game took on a whole new light late in the third, with both teams chasing the crucial goal.
Seven minutes into the period Ross Howell found himself on the end of a Matt Amado pass and calmly slotted the puck past Stu Denman to tie up the score.
With the points on the line teams chased the crucial goal and Melbourne appeared to have clinched the win through Hughes, however the Tongues were able to tie the game up through Mike McRae within a minute of falling behind.
Stu Denman was the hero in the shootout, saving both Gold Coast shots, while Baclig and Armstrong were able to deliver the win for the Ice, which sends them 12 points clear with a month remaining in the regular season.
With the Ice having the benefit of home Ice for the playoffs come the first weekend in September, many are failing to see how they can be stopped.
The reigning champions have only lost once in regulation this year and know that they are more than capable of ensuring the cup stays in Melbourne.
Import and fan favourite Baclig, who also scored a crucial goal in the shootout, isn’t worried, despite their being some tough competition.
“We had a discussion before the game and it’s not the what the other teams can do It’s what the Melbourne Ice do. If we bring our a-game we’re going to win the cup.”
While they are heavy favoured, head coach Paul Watson refuses to take anything for granted.
“Four teams, two days and a two game series and anything can happen, it doesn’t matter if you finish 1st or 4th,”
“I’m confident we’ll be so competitive, because not only do we know, we believe that we are good enough to win the cup.”
The Ice will now travel to the Gold Coast, where they we’ll face the Blue Tongues in a double header, who are 7-5 at home this season.
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