Gordon Goodenough: Good evening. We are the unofficial podcast of the Sydney Bears Australian Ice Hockey League team. It's good to have you with us. We are recording on Tuesday evening and where wherever whenever you're listening, whether it's in the morning, in the afternoon, or the evening, we welcome you and thank you. My name is Gordon Goodenough. I am joined here by my co hosts, Nathan Graham and Matt Wiggins. Nathan, how are you going this evening?

Nathan: Really well. Really well. Feeling great. Good start to the week. good weekend of hockey. And I've been looking forward to joining you guys.

Gordon Goodenough: And Matt, your your old mentee, Brian Burke, just got elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame. There is a multiverse in which he does not meet you and is not elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame. How are you going this evening, Matt?

Matt: One of the greatest moments of my life was running into Mr. Burke as I called him outside of Real Sports Bar in Toronto. We had a quick chat about Australia. He said he'd never been. I told him he should come. It was full of young and beautiful people rather like ourselves. He didn't even crack a smile. And if you do check my Instagram, that is the face of a very angry old man. Not me, him. But yeah, great to be back in Sydney. I was in Perth last week, just a very quick shout out. I ran into the Perth Thunder Boys in the Virgin Lounge. They were on their way to Canberra. Had a super quick chat with Drew Robson and Riley Langeal. Super lads said they'd heard about the podcast. How you going boys? Nice to have you along with us.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, Chris Chris Langeel, Riley's dad, I mentioned before I've I know him, he's the commentator for the for the Perth Thunder, great guy, and really, really nice family. so yeah, well done on on meeting them. And yeah, we've got a lot to talk about. We had entering into the weekend, we we the the Sydney Bears were in sixth place and we had two big games against teams above us, the Central Coast Rhinos and the Sydney Ice Dogs. Sydney Ice Dogs entering the weekend we're actually top of the league, tied with the Perthunder in points percentage. So a big derby, the Wilson Cup on the line. But let's let's start by recapping the non Bears games and Nathan you're gonna take us through that for us.

Nathan: kicking off with Saturday games, we had in a tight one, Mustangs came back and nearly nearly chased it down against the lightning up at Boundle. Lightning eventually taking that one seven-six in the Hunter, North Stars six over the Rhinos four. The Thunder went down to the Brave at the AIS score their Brave 5, Thunder 1. And the Adelaide Adrenaline picked up their first regulation win of the season. And incredibly their first win over the Melbourne Ice in 11 years in a tight one 3-2 in Adelaide. over to the Sunday games, Thunder, they turned it around on the on the Sunday with an 8-4 win against the Brave. the Mustangs 10 over the Lightning six. impressively Brody Crane seven points in that game. North Stars over the Dogs six three at Macquarie and the Melbourne Ice turn the tables on the adrenaline seven three down in Adelaide.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, some big some big results. and we had some friendly results that went the way of of the Sydney Bears. If if you're looking at the standings, the the Mustang splitting the weekend certainly helped us. Camber Brave, who were tired with us entering the weekend, splitting the weekend, that helped us. but let's get into the Sydney derby on the Saturday. now I I'm gonna say a statement that maybe a little controversial and and feel free to push back. I feel like this Sydney Derby was the most significant one in in terms of importance that we've had since two thousand and eight. And my reasoning for that is that two thousand and eight was the last time that both the Sydney Bears and the Sydney Ice Dogs made finals. this one felt pretty huge. We've only met The had a derby in finals once that was in 2004 when the Ice Dogs beat beat the Bears five to four on their way to a good old cup title. it felt huge and this late in the season, the Ice Dogs having won the first two, just one more win needed to secure the Wilson Cup for the first time since twenty eighteen was was is that a statement that you guys agree with or is is I I certainly encourage some some pushback.

Nathan: look, I I I I certainly think it's up there. I think when I think of the game I probably think more so in the context of our season, but I think that narrative that you've just unfolded there. yeah, look I think I think you could definitely build a case to support that. not sure what you think, Matt.

Matt: Yeah, it was a huge game. know none of us are neutrals, but if we had have been, it have been a cracking game to watch. So yeah, from a historical standpoint, I'm going to defer to your superior knowledge, Gordie, but I thought it was a great game of hockey and a fabulous advert for the game.

Gordon Goodenough: And we had we had on on the podcast last week we talked about how Nick Seitz had since he'd had arrived had gotten the the Bears off to quick starts and he did it again. sixty three seconds required for the first goal this time. he ends up getting a hat trick. Lucas Herman gets a five point game. The the the Bears at one stage lead, five to one, the Ice Dogs come back and and really it felt pretty nerve wracking at that stage when it was five four. Thomas Lander gets breaks a three game pointless streak, the longest pointless streak that he's had since twenty eighteen. And Plimley carries a team for the win. Like what more drama could you possibly want from from a Battle of Sydney?

Matt: Gordie, we were all in a group chat while the game was going on. There was some fairly colourful language and squeaky bums, I think, at various stages of the third. So, yeah, yeah, cracker.

Nathan: Yeah, that the the third period obviously it's probably not the the sequence of the game that we want to focus on here, but that third was definitely nervy. particularly off the back of, you know, the first two periods where I thought, you know, perhaps you know at the start the start of game, you know, the dogs probably had a a couple of good looks. I think Hayden made a couple of pretty sharp stops on some good looks early, but you know, beyond that, I thought You know, we were really moving our feet, you know, throughout rotation. you know, we we had them on the back foot early. You know, perhaps one of the best starts to a game that we've had this season. And obviously, on last week's pod, you know, Gordo, you you covered some stats around our starts, but you know, certainly got out of the got out of the gate pretty pretty early and I thought we were quite dominant throughout that first period, not just on the scoreboard, but just from a run of play perspective. and that really continued throughout throughout the second. You know, again skating well. the active the active D I think was a real standout. And from a a chance creation perspective, you know, really strong. I think by the end of the game we had I think the official count fifty six shots and I dare say quite a percentage of those were were relatively strong looks. And you could potentially argue that you know we probably you know should have put a few more past boroughs who had a really good night in net. you know, maybe a little bit earlier, but yeah, I'll I'll let you guys obviously expand on the third.

Matt: We just talked about Nick scoring inside of 63 seconds, but the first line on my game notes were three enormous saves from Plimley right before Nick scored his first goal. you know, Ice Dogs got off to a fast start as well. We just had a boy, you know, shutting the door and keeping the puck out of the net as much as... much as it had done the week before against the Mustangs. So, again, good on you, Hayden. Could have been a very different start to the game if any one of those three chances had gone in.

Nathan: Absolutely.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, and and and I think looking back at the second Sydney Derby, I don't know if you if you guys remember that one, but we dominated the first ten minutes and we couldn't find a way past Ryan Burroughs. And then, you know, a a a shot a sharp angled shot comes through and it takes a deflection off a stick and and gets gets through us and and suddenly we're scrambling and we gave up five in a row in that in that second Sydney derby and ended up losing seven three and I I think, you know, that was the score line. We you know, I know you mentioned last week, Nathan, certainly wasn't a reflection of of the game flow. It was just the the the ice dogs got bounces at important opportunities and and we didn't get those bounces that that went our way. And it felt like getting that those that big start, you know, three big saves in Plimley, big goal from Nick Zeitz. And I thought the third goal That Nick Zeit scored the hat trick goal from the circle, sharp angled shot, beat Burrows clean. He was he was out to challenge. I think that's something we haven't really seen much of this season. Someone that can beat a goaltender, legitimate top three in the league as as far as save percentage, beat him clean with no screen from from that distance.

Matt: Yeah, Nick was a threat every single time he put a skate blade on the ice. I think, again, we talked last week about that top line and how effective they've been. But, you know, it almost seems somewhat obscene to say this, but Nick took his game to another level this weekend. And then, you know, what's his score now? Twelve goals in four games. Even the most elementary mathematicians can work out that that's a hat-tricker game, right? I mean, I know this isn't going to carry on forever, but his speed on the ice, you know, the way he challenged defenders, that wrist shot has got some juice, hasn't it? And, yeah, he must be scaring the bejesus out of teams every time, you know, Herms and Goose step on the ice, I would have thought.

Nathan: Matt, give me a reason why it can't continue. Again, I I know that's a full plate of bias there, but let's be real, these numbers aren't going to continue most likely, but you know, he he is going to be a threat consistently game by game here. You know, what you said there, Gordy, you know, an ability to beat goaltenders from, you know, all over the ozone clean. You know, that's you know, how many how many guys in the in the league, you know, have that ability? you could probably argue there might only be, you know, a small handful, potentially. So, you know, be before we turn this into the Nick Sites podcast, which we could definitely be trending towards, it's pretty easy at the moment with with with these statistical lines and the way that he's looking in games, that's for sure.

Gordon Goodenough: Ha ha ha.

Matt: I just can't, I'm shaping an email up to my CFO to see if I can come up with a player sponsorship because whoever sponsors Nick for the rest of the season is going to have their name announced a lot.

Nathan: Yes. I might I might tell Nick tomorrow that I'll I'll write my own proposal to to be his agent and you can play us a goal bonus. And we'll just send you broke.

Gordon Goodenough: Yep. it'll it'll have to go in with your applications to be Brady Kachuk's agent and Darren Radish's agent. It's all it's all happening. just a quick one. We had we did have a really lovely comment from I'm I'm not sure if I'm pr pronouncing the name correctly, An Angelica or Angelica Fran, who who said, just my newbie thoughts, very exciting game versus the ice dogs. We were doing so well. Then the third period came along and suddenly the ice dogs were twice as fast and ferocious than we'd seen them all game. I felt physically ill during that onslaught. but Bears were awesome, were not demoralized, they managed to drive them out and turn it around, even score again. Such a thrill. So thank you for your comment. I think that's a a really good summation of of my emotions watching that game for sure.

Matt: Mm. Just on that winning goal, there are chaps, Tommy Lander. There were some pretty goals scored in that game. Tommy Lander causing havoc in the crease, real meat and potatoes goal, breaks a multi-game score in drought, life in the old dog yet. On you Tommy.

Gordon Goodenough: Mm. Mm.

Nathan: Absolutely. And sorry, Gordon, what was the the stat that you mentioned earlier in the in the pod?

Gordon Goodenough: that's a three point pointless str three game pointless streak for Thomas Lander. You know, I don't advertise that. but you know, I had to go back all the way back to twenty eighteen to find when he last went three games without a point. And, you know, when you've been in the league since two thousand and seven and that's pretty much I think twenty eighteen and and now that's that's the only times when he's gone three games without scoring a point is

Nathan: No.

Gordon Goodenough: Just obscene consistency from from Thomas Lander.

Nathan: It is. Yeah, but we're so accustomed to Tommy just popping up, contributing game on game, you know, or almost, you know, in in the way of a lock. you know, three games, you know, it's it's not it's not an extended streak, but for for Lander it is. So yeah, good good stats there again from the king of stats.

Matt: The dogs showed us, know, flexed their muscles, they showed us they could score goals quickly and in bunches. I did make a note, I thought Ryza called a very, very smart time out in the third. Now, admittedly, the dogs did score another one afterwards, but I noticed, you know, a change in the way we approached the final stages of that game. And, you know, I'm certain that was a message that...

Nathan: Yeah.

Matt: Ryzer gave the boys during that time out. you know, often coaches, the coaching contribution goes completely unnoticed because everybody's bedazzled by, you know, the boys on the ice. But I thought smart move from Ryzer clearly got a message across. You know, he didn't stop the bleeding fully, but he stemmed it and then he reset, reset the group. And we certainly approached the sort of last five minutes of that game in a very different manner than we had. approach that, you know, the previous five or 10 minutes. So hats off to Rise of, you know, a smart veteran move there.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, and and you know, Hayden Plimley did enough to to gut it out for the win and that's in five starts it's that's his fourth win. So he's he's he's been very, very useful. I don't think you know, entering in the season anyone had Hayden Plimley being a a really vital part of this team on their bingo card. You know, I I don't think most of us had had heard of Hayden Plimley, but you know, circumstances have happened, he's come in, he's grabbed the opportunity that that he's had and he's he's been he's been really, really useful for for the Bears.

Nathan: Yeah, and I'm not sure about you guys, but when I when I look back on that game, I I I do wonder, you know, earlier in the season, I'm not necessarily convinced that we walk away with a win in that game. You know, the way that it transpired and the adversity and, you know, in in the third period, you know, that that came you know, credit to the dogs. They came hard and fast. and you know, I think I think, you know, off the back of, you know, what you said before, Matt, you know, they regrouped They found a way to win. you know, we were coasting there for a while, but I'm again I'm not convinced necessarily that we walk away from a win if that game was was conducted earlier in the season. So I think we we probably take a positive out of that as well.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah. Well, I I remember that first game we we had, you know, pr a handful of breakaway opportunities and you know couldn't couldn't find a way past it was Murakami and Nett in in the season opener and couldn't find a way past him. And you know, we had gave up goals at at awkward times, you know, right before the end of the of the second period. you know, it was it was tough. but yeah, we certainly have got some goal scoring goal scoring players and and players who who are on hot streaks and that carried over into the rhinos game and we had as as spoiler alert nick nick zeitz took his goal total total from nine to twelve Lucas Herman had a five point game which was a season high points for him and matches an AIHL career high he he had a five point game in twenty twenty four it it it felt like at times a game where we might get goalied. and again, I I think we've lost those games before and we gutted out a win in this one. What was what was the difference do you think in in in getting the result?

Nathan: First and foremost, a massive shout out to Arnold Oberroy in this game. I'm not sure if he's reported to work yet this week, but w what a weekend out for him in terms of you know the the volume of shots that he saw and he made he made quite a volume of miraculous stops. you know, you look at some of these shot some of these shot totals from the game, w we were nineteen shots through ten minutes. Eighteen of those were were even strength shots. it it could have th this game could have been over in the first period potentially. you know, again, hot start, very similar theme to that of Saturday. I thought we were skating really well throughout that first period, carried that momentum through. yes, Nick and that top line again, you know, looking dangerous. But I I really thought that we had some great looks through the middle six as well. a against the Rhinos. and that that big bouche bomb, the big bouchard bomb through traffic was certainly somewhat against the run of play. And when that went in I thought, you know, come on guys, we we can't let, you know, sort of that that single moment sort of rattle us.

Gordon Goodenough: Mm.

Nathan: And and and really it didn't look they were probably good value for those two goals, but at the end of the day it was against the runner play. You know, we had thirty three shots through the first period. And I I I thought really throughout this game we were we were more than dominant. I'd actually go as far as saying this was by far our most complete performance of the year. I'm not sure if you guys agree, but not not just from a statistical perspective. Like the the the shot totals look look great, they look sexy. but just the the the way that we, you know, broke out the way we moved the puck. Thought we were very clean and efficient with the way we moved the puck. you know, there's gonna be someone out there a lot smarter than me that would have been counting high danger, but I I dare say that again would have been a significant percentage of of those sixty five shots on goal would have been very good looks.

Matt: I have three things written in my game notes. Complete dominance from the Bears, period. This is period one. Second point was Oberoi with a number of exclamation marks behind that. Third one was unbelievable assists from Logan Brody.

Nathan: Absolutely.

Matt: So, Finn's goal with nine seconds left in the first, huge. Because if we'd have gone in behind at the end of the first, having dominated them 33 shots to 10, I think it was, that would have been a gross miscarriage of justice. So, yeah, Finn with his fifth great assist from Logan, Louis Alive picked up the second half also. Very timely goal. We talked about goals at the start of the period.

Nathan: Agreed.

Matt: there was a big one right at the end for us.

Nathan: Agreed. And I actually just noticed, Matt, as I refer to my notes for the first time, I I too have that that same data point. Logan Brody, great patience at the end of the end of the period there. after sustained pressure by us as well. Yeah, Logan Logan loves to shoot it. You know, he's got he's got some really good offensive instincts. But seeing him execute that play so well, you know, heads up a lot of patience and composure to find the pass. I I agree, Matt. You know, that that that play had some real polish to it.

Gordon Goodenough: A another let's let's give some shout outs to some assist kings. Kenshin Hayashi. The the assists that that he that he gave, I think it was N Nick Seites, the the setup, the skating, the edge work, to to get into the offensive zone and and to have the presence of mind to know where where Seitz was. you know, it's it

Matt: Yeah, wow.

Gordon Goodenough: That that felt like a a pretty big moment in the game too.

Nathan: Massive. Kenny Kenny has a really, you know, it's a secret weapon, his feet. When his feet are moving, you know, he can he can really unlock opportunities. And I thought that passage of play was a perfect sort of representation of that, where he just like opened up some space, you know, took that space well, and and fed Nick for a for an absolute beauty. But that was definitely just a small moment where you could just see a certain skill set you know, set the table for a really, really good opportunity. opportunity so you know I I too had that had that note.

Gordon Goodenough: and Nathan, I'm I'm gonna get you to to double up on on this one. Anthony Kimlin. He he sets the the new appearance record for goaltenders in in in the AIHL with 191 appearances, overtakes Stuart Denman and he he gets the win as well over over Ananda Oberroy. taking not just this performance but what he's meant to the club. What what can you what can you say about Anthony Kimlin and and his accomplishments?

Nathan: Well look, I think, you know, firstly, Kimmer, he you he he's synonymous with our club and and vice versa. you know, I you know when I when I sat in the stands as a fan, you know, sort of that seventeen, eighteen period into nineteen when we won the cup, he he was beyond dominant during those years. And then when, you know, when I started to become acquainted with, you know, other teams and other personnel around the league, I think one of the earliest things that I learned was just the the magnitude of I guess the level of respect that he carries around the league. players, administrators, staff, and that that probably alludes to both his on ice capability, you know, his sustained level of performance in this league and also the way that he conducts himself off the ice as well. you know, he he sets a tone, he's a professional. you know, he cares a lot. you know, maybe sometimes even to his own detriment, he really cares. I'm sure at some point where you know he he'll be able to look back on just a wonderful a wonderful career in this league. and he's you know, I'm sure he's still got a lot to achieve. But that. you know, the there's the Australian representation but I think I think the the biggest testament to him is just how he's seen by his peers by the competitor base across the league and the people within our club for sure and it was actually quite fitting you know when I w when I saw the the graphic before the game and and understood that he was he was gonna break this record, all you want naturally is to see him go out there and and deliver a strong start. and you know, there's probably a couple of goals there really that he he would have had no chance on. But In the third period, and I know that we spoke about this you know, during the game in our chat, he was absolutely massive. He like he he was vintage Kimlin in in the third period, just to make sure that we walked out of there with with the right result. And I just thought that was fitting. It sort of just tied it all all in quite nicely.

Matt: Mm. Yeah, I'll just say a couple of things there, Nathan. You introduced him to me at the Mustangs game and I think I had a very quick chat with him and afterwards I pulled you aside and I just said what a class human being that young man is. So, you know, I echo my limited contact with Kimo, just enormously impressed by him. But the third goal that the Rhinos scored was at the... very start of the second period. So I think for pretty much two periods, he literally stood on his head, but he just played the angle so well. And I talked last week about, you know, Hayden and his athleticism and how he, you know, he throws himself around the crease, you know, I'm going to share my age here, Dominic Hasek style. He's, he's literally here, there and everywhere when he needs to be. Kimma's game is very different. He just makes himself huge. He lets the puck hit his body and he did that pretty much in that record breaking start for two periods solid to see us home. So massive tip of the cap to Kimmer. He was, even though Nick scored a hat trick, he was my star of the game. And I think it wouldn't have been possible without, you know, his expertise, skill and stewardship behind the boys seeing us home.

Gordon Goodenough: And a as when when you're looking at recruiting and you know you've got a guy like Kimlin, you know, I I look I look at the AIHL standings and and teams with good local goaltenders, you know, they're able to invest, you know, use their imports in in other areas and it really helps them. Like if you have a look at the standings, out of the six teams in the t in the in currently in finals positions, four of them have local goaltenders. What what does that mean for you when you're recruiting Nathan? when when you know that, hey, in in goals, we we've got we've got whether it's Kimlin, whether it's Downey, whether you know now it's Plimley, we we've got some a a a level of comfort.

Nathan: Yeah, we we we've we've had a a huge competitive advantage, I think, in our goaltender, you know, stable. To have, you know, year on year, such quality, it it definitely allows you obviously to carry that that extra skater import. it's very it's very significant. the r I actually really don't like talking about this topic because when I do, when I think about it I I feel like we should have done a lot more with it. If I'm if I'm being brutally honest, you know, when you when you go into a season with, you know, some of the tandems that we've had, without opening up our import quota, you know, and you know, years past it's been Kimwand down and even a year like this with with Hayden, we really should have done more with it. It's it's a luxury that not many teams are afforded. and it it just gives you a lot more flexibility. It it allows you to start a season with certainty and net, which not all not all teams have that capability. You know, a lot a lot of teams in the AI traditionally are probably going to market quite early to make sure that they've got, you know, their goaltending situation taken care of. so look, in short, it's been it's been a huge boon for us. you know, it's it's been a bit of a double-edged sword from the perspective of I just I I feel like we haven't capitalised on that like we like we should have, from a net results perspective. But yeah, look, we'll whilst we've got it, we'll absolutely take it.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, excellent. Well, the weekend saw us get six points in a weekend for the first time this season. We've had we've had four two game weekends entering this weekend and we had got three points, three points, four points, and five points. So we got the full six and both were technically on the road. So two big road wins. that brings us to the ladder. So Matt, do you want to take us through Currently where we stand in the standings.

Matt: Yeah, North Star's still top of the table, 35 points from 16 games. Thunder Hot on their heels in second place, 30 points from 14 games. Dogs Lost Some Ground, they're in third, 27 points along with us. I think you mentioned last week, Gordie, we could have finished this weekend anywhere between fourth and ninth on the ladder, so happily we're fourth. Mustang's coming in fifth, 26 points from 17 games. Brave lost a little bit of ground, 16 games, 24 points. Rhinos, 23 points from 19 games in seventh. Ice eighth, 22 points. Lightning, ninth with 19 points. And the adrenaline bringing up the rear with seven points from 16 games.

Gordon Goodenough: So potential for some movement as well. We have another two game weekend this weekend. So we've got the ice on Saturday. We have the lightning on the Sunday. let's let's have a look at those two games. Melbourne Ice, you know, they've they've got Simone Dupree who's come over is having an impact. no doubt we'll we'll get a sense of rosters as as they start to be finalized before finals but I I the the Melbourne Ice team that we faced last month that we had that four to one win it's I I know I said it at the time during the commentary that this is not the Melbourne Ice team that we will see later this season. And you know, due to suspensions and and they've had new imports come across, they they look like a very good team and they won five of their last six games. what are we what are we expecting from this one?

Nathan: this is gonna be an absolute cracker. I think that historically I've always enjoyed the Melbourne Ice games. j just from sort of emotional energy. I think that the the two teams, you know, got a lot of very competitive leaders across both of their rosters. I almost feel like there's sort of this mini unofficial rivalry between between us and the ice. but look, I'm I'm expecting, you know, that that that game last month, I I think you're probably right. Like we we did that game quite comfortably. what we will see on Saturday will be a very different looking Melbourne Ice. I'm expecting a lot of entertainment. I'm also expecting goals again. and really looking forward to this one. What about you, Matt?

Matt: Yeah, think Kerry will have them up for the game. And if there wasn't an official rivalry, there certainly probably is now that you've said that, Nathan. Just looking at the games over the weekend, know, fair amount of penalty minutes in them. I expect they'll be physical. I think for me, you know, I mentioned last week, I like it when the senior players, you know, get on the front foot and throw the body a bit. I think that's probably going to be important. I suspect Kerry will tell his vets to get after our young kids, but it's going to be an exciting game, that's for sure. Hopefully a full house and we can cheer the boys in.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, they the Melbourne Ice coming into that that game on the Sunday against the adrenaline that had the worst power play in in the league and on the Sunday they turned that around, they scored four power play goals and they scored a short handed goal. so they can get their special teams going. You know, that's you it's always gonna be tough to beat a team that can that can convert on on special teams. They've they've certainly got a good outfit. Jed Lake has has y you know, he's continuing his breakout season. He's got sixteen goals now and he's he's been a fantastic local player for them.

Nathan: Absolutely. You know, I I think you know Matt Carowana, he's probably one of my my favourite players to watch across the league. You know, great, great leader by all accounts. and you know, they've certainly got a lot of weapons at the top of their lineup. You know, it'd be a very good goaltending battle as well, you know, regardless of who of who is in net for us, I think that'll be a really good goaltending battle. you know, it and it's a sellout as well, guys. This game is a sellout. So it should be yeah, it should be a fantastic, fantastic battle on Saturday, that's for sure.

Matt: Ishida went back to back in the two games for them at the weekend and put up some decent numbers. So I suspect we'll see him start to sharpen his game and show us what a great goal he's been.

Gordon Goodenough: as as Melbourne Ice are chasing a final spot, I I I think we're gonna get a pretty heavy dose of Tatsanoshan Ishida in in that. you know, he he's been so good for them over the last couple of seasons, as as an import goaltender. Well on the Sunday we will play the Brisbane Lightning for the fourth time this season. We've played them once at home and beat them. We beat them twice away, once and overtime. and once in regulation. we play them again and they've got Tanner Hops he's got what thirty one points in the last five games. this is a team that scores and and is in a lot of high scoring games. what what are we what are we expecting from this one?

Nathan: There's always octane in these games. you know, Brisbane, you know, they probably have that big three. Campbell, Hebert, and Hops. You know, these guys can do anything on their day. They can be very damaging. you know, they they have that speed and shot kind of approach. you know, Hops loves to possess the puck, loves to carry it. Those guys will see a lot of ice time. But then they've got some really dangerous sort of support cast as well. you know, Gendanov, Rapchuk, you know, they've got some guys on the blue line that contribute as well. you know, Dornbus in in goal, you know, I've I've always respected Dornbus's game. they they will play 60 minutes as well, Brisbane. So yeah, we're gonna have to be on our toes. again, like I I know it's a cheap throwaway comment, but I'm look I'm really looking forward to these games as well. I said the same thing last last week on the pod. I think both of these games are gonna be very competitive. we're gonna have to turn up, that is for sure. you know, the Melbourne Ice have got a lot to lot to play for. Same with Brisbane, and they're gonna be relentless. So we're we're gonna have to be on.

Gordon Goodenough: Yep. Yep. yeah, a couple of big home games. as well. You know, important to con t to convert. opportunities at home and you know, we we can make some progression up up the standings we should be greedy for points at at this stage naturally. And you know, you look at the at the teams around us, you know, potentially you could over overtake Perth, you could potentially overtake the ice dogs. But yeah, we'll we'll s we'll see where we're where we're headed and and how we're situated at the end of the weekend. any any final thoughts guys?

Matt: Well, we're 3-0 since the podcast started, so clearly we need to take a massive amount of credit for the win streak that we're on. In all seriousness, look, I think after the hard work the boys have done and all three of those victories, Mustangs, Dogs and Rhinos, they've been hard fought and the boys have played well, but they've dug in and they've had to fight for wins in all three of those games. and ninth on the ladder. It's not going to be easy, but it will be a shame for us to not continue that run through those two games. And as you say, Gordie, pick up another six points here. That's a pretty handy win streak to be on mid-season, laying a foundation into the last couple of months of the year.

Gordon Goodenough: And and we've we've played the Brisbane Lightning three times. We've used three differ different goaltenders and each of them has has got a win. so I d I don't know, Nathan, if if you've if you're busy, if you want to sign a fourth goaltender, see if we can if we can do four of a kind.

Nathan: It's not at the top of my docket, but yeah, sure. Like I'll talk to anyone, you know me.

Matt: John Chaker's dealing goal is like their playing cards at the moment, Nathan, so give him a buzz.

Nathan: No problem. I've got him on speed null. But I sorry, just back to Matt's point. in true AI style, we're at that midpoint. you mentioned before, you know, we're getting to a stage now where rosters will be set very soon. this is always sort of that that point of the season where you're almost laying sort of your second foundation and a canvas for what propels propels you into the second half. It's it's that stage of the season where you really want to be setting a tone in terms of what you take forward. And I think that's maybe one thing that I think we can take a lot of positives from from the past weekend was you know for for large chunks of both of those games we were relatively dominant, particularly on the Sunday. we we showed that we can generate, you know, a a huge volume of of quality opportunities. When we've got all of our guys rolling and we're skating well, I think we're starting to see what what the potential of this team could be. we've got a great opportunity this weekend, you know, another two games, take that momentum forward, take the good DNA out of it, you know, lead with it this weekend. all of a sudden we're sort of, you know, we're creeping the trajectories where we want it to be. And it it's generally around this time when you start getting a a true feel for what what each respective team is going to look like. you know, when it when it matters most heading into, you know, the bulk of of you know, July and August. So, I'm I'm very interested to see if we can keep up that, you know, that just that tenacity in the the competing energy levels. and even even little one percenters like on the on the Sunday, one thing that I noted and this was just something I forgot to raise before, and for me this is more just around attitude and application. Than anything else. But you know, we had guys like, you know, Dex, Nick, Tommy Lander, you know, going out to big time shooters like Danick Bouchard and just putting everything on the line. These these are the types of ingredients that we really need to carry forward. these are little details that I'll be looking for, you know, over the next, over the next couple of weeks. Big opportunity here in front of us, I feel.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, and and we'll see if we can continue the the streak of we've gone four games in a row of scoring the first goal within the first hundred seconds of of the game. Nick Seitz has been involved in all four of those those goals. and you know three three is the goal scorer and the last one as the assist on on the Lucas Herman goal. we we've you know certainly got the weapons. Nick Seitz just side note averaging three and a half points a game, which would put him I checked Elite Prospects earlier today, would put him tied six all time, for AIHL point scorers, which is just a bonkers statistic. so let's let's see if he can continue his hot streak and certainly we'll we'll see the the second and third line, they've been really effective as well over the last couple of weeks. I I think just just a final note for myself, a big shout out to everyone who's who's listened and downloaded and interacted and engaged with us on social media. The the Sydney Bears have been kind enough to share some of our posts and we've got some really good engagement and you know some people have reached out and sent messages to us and given us you know, good good feedback. So we appreciate that. thank you for your support. if there's things you'd like us to include, feel free to let us know, leave a comment on on one of our social media posts as well. Any final thoughts from you two gentlemen?

Matt: Did you want my dance for TikTok?

Nathan: That's that's that's scary. It is. It's it's it's terrifying. I I'm I'm not saying I'd be any better, Matt. I'm not

Matt: Isn't it? Yours is coming next week I've heard. No, it's been a blast again. No, no, I'm the entrée, you're the main course. It's been a blast again, boys, and I really enjoyed the games this weekend and, you know, clearly we had some fun. It was, I've never, I've never typed so fast in my life in a WhatsApp group as I was swapping views and opinions and giving Gordie live updates and, but teamwork makes the dream work, doesn't it? So,

Nathan: well.

Matt: Yeah, let's get another six this week boys, come on.

Nathan: Absolutely. And I think just to extend on on what you said before, Gordo, you know, we we've this is only the second podcast, but there's been so many messages and people referencing the pod on calls and things like that, which is absolutely awesome. You know, we're we're doing our best and every week we'll I hope we'll have incremental gains and be better and better and this thing will end up being a very polished performance collectively. I'm just lucky that I've got you two guys leading the way.

Gordon Goodenough: I'd I'd like to to do sort of a mailbag eventually each week, where people can submit questions or or ideas or or whatnot. I know I'm I'm gonna be at the rink doing commentary live on site for the next couple you know, next three home games. shoot us through some suggestions or, you know, if you have any questions about things and it doesn't matter whether you've been a fan for, you know, a week or whether you've been a fan for years, you know, just let us know any questions that you have.

Nathan: Yeah, I'll be out in force with my fluffy mic, so just just a warning to everyone entering Macquarie on the weekend.

Matt: Gordon, we've created a monster. He's got professional microphones and... We're gonna get emerged up at some point. Nathan Graham. Yeah, no, we look after you, mate.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah.

Nathan: It's not a bad deal here on the pod. It's a great deal, great opportunity.

Gordon Goodenough: The be he's been listening to the commentary and the end of financial year sale at at Bing Li. so

Matt: I've been ready, yeah.

Nathan: Yes. Yeah, people get get into Bing Lee. There's a lot of great deals in there. And they're great supporters of the club.

Gordon Goodenough: So yeah, thank you once again. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, gentlemen, for for your time. we will we will see you next week. until then, thank you for your support. Give us a follow on Facebook and Instagram, Beers and Bears Podcast, and we'll see you next week.