Coach Vlad Rubes praised his teams penalty kill and pressure on the powerplay, along with some great goaltending. 

“We had the best goalie in our net, our penalty-kill was good, but we conceded a lot of silly penalties, but when they took plenty, we were able to score on the power play, three of our four goals tonight were on the PP.”

With seven penalties against Melbourne and eleven against the Bears, the scoring opportunities built up during the game with the Ice leading the shot count 49-25.

Bears import goaltender Nick Boucher only let in one goal despite having to save 48 over the course of the match.

The scoring started with the first of the Bears three power play goals as Lauko poached a goal after a rebound off the net.

The first periods score line didn't reflect the high aggression and intensity shown by both teams, hard body checking.

The second period was a showcase of hard, powerful hockey, with enough indiscretions for the referee to stop the game on several occasions.

The Bears scored early with a goal inside five minutes to Scott Townsend, firing into an empty net after Ice goaltender Stu Denman came out to play the puck but failed to clear it out of the zone.

Melbourne had Lliam Webster receive a five minute major penalty for elbowing Lauko in the face, knocking out his front tooth.

It took the Bears just eleven seconds to capitalise, with Eric Begin scoring from the blue line.

Melbourne’s Greg Sturrocks penalty with twenty seconds to go in the second proved crucial as Begin scored his second of the night in the first minute of the third.

The Bears penalty kill finally conceded a goal after over nineteen minutes of penalties and the 45th shot at Nick Boucher, Jason Baclig capping off some good pressure to slot one home from close range.

Forward Michal Lauko was the Habitat Furniture Man of the Match after scoring the first goal of the game and taking a late hit  in the second period knocking out his front tooth. Michal didn't miss a shift and helped the Bears to their 6th win in a row.  

Come watch the Bears take on the Gold Coast Blue Tongues next Sunday night at 5pm.

Written by Patrick Angel