Round 1 of the “Battle of Sydney” goes to the Sydney Bears after an amazing performance displayed last night at the Liverpool Catholic Club.The Bears showed their true fighting spirit by holding the Ice Dogs off the score sheet for most of the game.  

The start of the game saw the Bears escape an early 5 on 3 penalty kill with both Brett Nelson-Bond and Eric Begin serving 2 minutes in the box each.  After pressuring hard, the Bears finally got their chance at a powerplay with Nick Cleland firing a rocket top glove side over Ice Dogs goalie Jimmy Herbert to take the 1-0 lead. The lead was short lived, with Andrew White scoring in front on another powerplay to level the score 1-1 after the first period. 

The second period was a back and forth battle with both teams trying to take control of the game.  Ice Dogs import Derek Campbell was denied on a breakaway by goalie Gabriel Robledo to keep the score level at 1-1. 

The Bears started the third period on a 5-3 powerplay, with time winding down on the second of the two penalties, Rob Franchini took the long stretch pass from Eric Begin and scored low glove side to put the Bears in front 2-1. 

With less than 5 minutes to go the Ice Dogs had their chance on the powerplay with Brett Nelson-Bond being sent off for hitting from behind.  Referee Jeff Scott then called another penalty on Eric Begin for delay of game giving the Ice Dogs a huge 5-3 powerplay.  Counting the final minutes down the Ice Dogs pulled their goal tender for the 6-4 advantage but couldn’t get anything by goal tender Gabriel Robledo who helped preserve the 2-1 lead and ultimately win the game for the Bears. 

“We played a patient defensive game and capitialised on the opportunities we had. With some key players missing it was a strong team effort with excellent goaltending by Gabe which allowed us to win” said Robert Franchini 

Man of the match was goal tender Gabriel Robledo after stopping 24 of 25 shots and posting the 0.960 save percentage on the night.

“We had a huge disadvantage in terms of numbers, but we were positive and we worked hard and have come away with the win” added goalie Gabriel Robledo. 

“This is a fantastic result considering the number of players we were missing due to injuries, suspensions and personal commitments.  Playing the Ice Dogs is never easy and looking at the table before the game we knew this was a 6point game for both teams.” 

“We gave all we had tonight, played simple hockey and Gabe Robledo was excellent in the net.  After the last weekend we owed an apology to our fans, we trained hard during the week and it seems to be working.  We need to take the same approach to the game tomorrow against Newcastle.”  Said coach Rubes on the win. 

The Bears take on the Newcastle North Stars tonight at the Penrith Ice Palace, puck drops at 5pm.