At first glance, it would be easy to assume that each winning team dominated, but upon watching the replays, all four games were a much closer fight than the final score would indicate.
One noticeable thing that stands out this round is that the score doesn’t reflect the effort the teams put in across the four games.
Celebrations
Adelaide Rush retired Candice Mitchell’s jersey prior to Saturday night’s game. Mitchell is a 6-time AWIHL champion has represented Australia 7 times and, two of those as captain. Mitchell has played 19 Seasons for Adelaide through the eras of Assassins, Adrenaline and Rush.
On Saturday, Melbourne Ice’s Sharna Godfrey celebrated 200 games in the AWIHL, scoring a crucial goal that put the Ice ahead 3-2 in the third period.
The Results
Saturday, Adelaide Rush won game one 6-1 over the Sydney Sirens, and Melbourne Ice won 4-2 over Brisbane Lightning.
Sunday, Adelaide Rush won game two 6-3 over the Sydney Sirens, and Brisbane Lightning won 4-1 over Melbourne Ice.
Adelaide Rush holds their top spot on the ladder with 20 points, followed closely by Perth Inferno with 19. Melbourne Ice sits at 15, with Brisbane Lightning at 11 and Sirens at 7.
Stand-out performances.
Once again, with no surprise, Emma Moonen stood tall in the net for the Adelaide Rush, who have shown week in and out depth in their line-up this season.
Adelaide Rush’s entire defensive line is a strong unit, making it almost impenetrable for the Sirens to break through.
At the other end of the Ice, the Sirens did well to shut down Kubilda, who has been scoring every game, keeping her off the scoresheet for game one on Saturday.
Melbourne Ice had a lot of momentum in game one, scoring early, with a scoreless second period and securing the winning goals in the third. In game two, Brisbane found their offensive momentum and secured a win, splitting the weekend for the two teams.
Looking ahead
Adelaide Rush is looking strong this season, and I expect to see them have a highly successful run home to finals and final series. I would particularly love to see them in the grand final, with the skill and determination they are showing week in and week out.
Perth Inferno have also had a strong season, sitting just one point below Adelaide on the ladder.
With five rounds to go until finals, the top spot is still up for grabs and will make every upcoming weekend exciting.
Next Weekend
Perth Inferno travel to Melbourne on the 11th and 12th of January,
Catch all the action live on YouTube via AWIHL.TV