Gordon Goodenough: Yes, we are the unofficial podcast of the Sydney Bears Australian Ice Hockey League team. My name's Gordon Goodnuff. It's great to have you with us and joined of course by Matt and Nathan. First of all, Matt, how how are you, mate? You've got the Deus X McKeah hat on, the Wendell Clark jersey.

Matt: I just, I'm spectacular thanks Gordie. I'm the only one of us who hasn't turned a year older in the last two weeks, so that's something to celebrate. And I am delighting in taking Nathan on a visual tour of my vintage maple leaf playing jerseys. it's Wendell Clark for you this week, Nathan, and hope you're enjoying.

Nathan: I I don't really take a lot of appreciation from your wardrobe at all, actually, but I'll give you

Matt: Gordy, I'm going to just appear on next week's episode with a fishing rod in my hand and I'm going to get ready to reel it.

Nathan: Doesn't even need bait, really.

Gordon Goodenough: Speaking of a wilderness man, you've you've got the hat for for the occasion, Nathan, the San Francisco Giants camouflage hat. how how are you going?

Nathan: better than the Giants, that's for sure. I'm going well. I've enjoyed many tacos tonight, for dinner and I'm gonna enjoy a beer and and some conversation with you guys and just rolling off the back of Matt's earlier comment, a belated happy birthday to you as well, Gordo. We we'd make sure that would never go through to the keeper.

Gordon Goodenough: thanks mate. I'm just gonna I'm just gonna crack open a beer on a Wednesday.

Nathan: Not very good.

Gordon Goodenough: This feels luxurious. Yep.

Nathan: This is as close to a birthday beer as we'll get, so he's cheers, mate.

Gordon Goodenough: Cheers, thank you. yeah.

Matt: is coherent.

Gordon Goodenough: It's nice nice to to be twenty one finally and legal drinking age in the US, so

Nathan: Yeah, absolutely.

Gordon Goodenough: Cheers to that. Well, let's get into it, guys. We had a an absolutely massive weekend. It was just the one game, but there were other games that affected or potentially were going to affect our finals chances and Nathan, can we get you to run through the out out of town scoreboard?

Nathan: Yes, we can. there was a big slate of games on the weekend. there was eight not including that of ours. so kicking off with the ice dogs five four comeback win over Newcastle at Macquarie, Rob Lakovitz and Kabore Dunn each had two goals and two assists. Santeri Harala had a goal and three assists. And Francis Drole as well as Skatchkov both posted three points each. Burrows had the win in net, he stopped forty. the Brave did us quite the favour beating the Melbourne Ice five two over at the AIS. Dom Cannock had four points. Bates, Steven, Ratcliffe, Carey and Crowder each posted two point nights for the Ice. Jed Lake scored his twenty first of the season. I think he had an assist in that game as well. And Joel Hasselman, who had a massive weekend, he kicked off with a huge night in net, posting a 947 save percentage on 38 shots faced. The Lightning beat the adrenaline in a highly entertaining game. that was an OT win for them, 7 6. Tanner Hopps netted the winner after Batu Gandonov tied it up late with 37 sex. a set 37 seconds rather left in regulation. Schenker had a four point night. Gendonov, Hodges, and Hops, they all had three points. Sasha Rapchuk and Grant Hebert. they both posted a couple of apples for the evening. And Jacob Dornbus got the winning net for the lightning. the Mustangs they traveled out west And took a four-three result against the Thunder in regulation. Brody Lindell, Caron, Hughes, they all contributed a couple of points for the Mustangs. Plouf, Hikasaka, and Horochek all had two points of their own. Seb Woodlands recorded the win in net, which was only his third start of the year in that one. spinning over to the Sunday games, the Brave, I must say I was getting some updates on this scoreline. on my way up to Sydney for our game. And I must say the Brave had me a little bit nervous here. They went down 2-0 but eventually got the job the job done scoring five unanswered goals in the third period to complete the weekend double over the ice they won that game five two. Spencer Cox netted two goals, Jake Ratcliffe with a goal and two assists. Cam Todd and Peter Bates both had two-point afternoons. And coming off his strong start on Saturday, Hasselman backed it up with with the double there, stopping 32 of 34 to cap off a really strong weekend for him in net. centeri Haralified Newcastle to a late a last second win over the dogs in Newcastle. those listeners out there they've probably seen this this footage sort of circulating on socials. fairly prominently. and yeah, his game winner came with 0.6 left on the clock. Wahib Dar Wahib Darge had two goals. Watanabe and Skachkov both had two assists. Brian Funes scored his first goal of the season, so a shout out there to Funzi. Dmitry Kulashov dished three apples and Trinker posted a nine twenty three in net for the dub in that game. Brisbane won by the same score line that they posted on Saturday, a 7-6 win over Adelaide on the road. Hebear and Sasha Rapchuk each with four points each. Tanner Hops and Shankar had three. Colby Johnston or Colby Johnson rather had two goals and three assists. Benson and Privo with three points each. Adelaide captain Joey McDougall contributed two goals and 29 pims. So a bit of a multi-cat performance in that one. And Dylan Dewar registered the win in net for Brisbane. And finally the Mustangs closed out a two back-to-back wins in Perth with a six-nothing shutout of the Thunder. Brody Crane continued his strong form. he had a goal and three assists. Klomp, Timmins, Hughes, Caron, and Gaeta. All with a couple of points in that game. Klomp had two goals and Gies Brecht completed the shutout stopping all twenty five shots that that he faced.

Gordon Goodenough: and Matt, did anything catch your eye other than the horrendously coloured Canberra jerseys from the Sunday game?

Matt: Yes, I did send you a little message about what on earth were they wearing. No, two 7.6s and two 5.2s. I did watch both of the Ice Braves games, the Sunday game in part as I was travelling to Macquarie. Never doubt the Canberra Brave, I think is the message there, Nathan. I thoroughly enjoy watching Peter Bates play just just a beautiful skater and him and Jake Radcliffe were completely on fire. The only other point I had raised was one that our man Mr Graham had already tabled Joel Hasselman huge weekend so a 9.47 and a 9.41 he now leads the league in save percentage by a clear margin.

Gordon Goodenough: Yes. We'll we'll get to to that a a little bit later. But yeah, Charlie Smart was was at the top there for quite a while and he's slipped down a a little bit and in fact it was Toyvenen that got both starts over the weekend and the I think he's he's on a three starts in a row that that he's received as well. but let's get into our game. We played the Rhinos and just just a final thought on those out of town games. We had probably six six might be generous if you include the Perth games, but let's include them. We had six games that really affected us and our finals position and we had results go our way in five of them. So we were we the other teams had had done their work. It was up to us against the Rhinos. And what what did you think of of the start there, Nathan?

Nathan: I thought we started really well in this game. I thought overall it was a you know, quite a dominant first period. we were shorthanded a couple of minutes in. I think Rubes took a took a minor penalty. We killed that off and I think following that with the exception of of the Rhinos goal in that in that first period, I thought we actually, you know sort of set a tempo in that game. certainly from a, you know, run of play perspective, you know, an ability to really you know, establish the zone and and set up and and create opportunities. you know, just throwing a a a couple of simple stats out there, our Our shot totals that were recorded on our side were 18 for the period with 50% of those coming from high dan high danger locations. And I'd probably say another probably 70% of that number was right in tight on on Oberoi. And, you know, we've spoken about Oberoy a lot. you know, heading into to the most previous weekend, you know, the guy just seems to stand on his head. game in, game out, you know, it's quite phenomenal to see, you know, his level of consistency and just the workload that he sees in net. And he he had a stellar period. You know, if you look at if you look at some of these raw numbers and and certainly the shot maps, w all things being equal, we really should have been a few goals up heading into the first intermission. But I think a mix of you know, maybe you know, underperformance from an execution perspective and actually making the most of the opportunities that we were creating and some good goaltending. led to that that storyline after one where we're actually a goal down. and Matt, I'll I'll let you take the listeners through through that one.

Matt: Yeah, look, I think there are a few things that stood out to me. as you mentioned, Nathan Brightstar from my position in the arena wasn't overly sure about Ruben's hooking call. But yeah, the the Rhinos certainly pose a threat. We talked last week about in the preview about their propensity to continually produce high event hockey and as that period progressed. thought we started well, but we got sort of drawn into that track meet type of game of hockey and they used their speed so, so well. know, lost count of the amount of times that Sang Ho Bae took the puck up ice and Sylvester took the puck up ice and they drive at defenders very fast and then quickly shift the point of attack. So Obviously, you they're a very dangerous side you do need to keep a close eye on them. I thought our power play looked promising. I noticed a slight change in the way our power play is set up and did see the Rhinos sort of cheating across to nullify that that Lucas Clapper. But with Ryan playing on the blue line, tends to take a little bit more of a central position than Kev has been taking. And Nick also comes in off the half wall a little bit. So Ryan's got two options rather than that east-west pass that we've been sliding across in previous games in the power play. But yeah, to your point, Nathan, lots of shots on Oberoi. He's so difficult to beat down low because he's such a big goalie, he gets down in the butterfly, he covers that bottom part of the net so effectively and we should probably also tip our hat to him for very cleverly and quite subtly kicking the goalpost off its more ins and then waving his arms around. I've watched that over two or three times on replay and there was not a player within two yards of him. yeah, hats off to Mr O'Broy there. I think you got away with a good one to have Dex's power play goal disallowed. yeah, official shots, Nathan, were 12-5 in our favour. I did spend some time talking to Nick Austin after the game, and he did say that our metrics had us even more dominant, as you've quite rightly pointed out. yet disappointing to go in one nil down after it felt we were very much in the ascendancy in the first period.

Nathan: Yeah, definitely. there weren't many people down behind the net there that actually could could work out why the goal was was waved off. Everyone was just in disbelief, just trying to, you know, ascertain exactly what had what had happened. It was actually quite a nice play. I I don't know if the puck actually hit hit Dex but it sort of dropped and he was very quick to sort of pounce on it and put it in behind Obrey. and everyone thought it was a clean goal. Everyone was sort of looking at each other wondering sort of what the hell had happened. but I I think you know to your point about the pla power play, that first power play that we had looked outstanding. We were really snapping it around. The movement was maybe as good as I've seen, you know, on our power play for quite some time. And we did we did actually create some really good looks. I think Herms had a had a wonderful chance or maybe a couple of top chances on that that first power play. I think one went into Obrey the the next one went over the crossbar. But Yeah, the the movement was was actually quite clinical. It was just the finishing that was was lacking a little bit. And I think as well, talking to a few of the players after the game, and referencing Oberoy, I think because of Oberoy's because of his technique and the way that he plays and he's so strong down low, it sort of forces guys to to shoot high. Or at least there's a there's a mentality there that they have to shoot high in in order to beat him. We did see a lot of shots missing the net typically typically high. but look all in all, I think we we certainly, you know, would have been heading into that first first in submission, feeling, you know, overall really, really positive about, you know, the standard of play and and our time in the zone that we want to be in and what we were doing with that time. It was just a little bit of the finishing that was was lacking.

Matt: Mm.

Gordon Goodenough: And then we had the second period we started on the power play. We couldn't really trouble them too much. It was kind of punctuated by the period break, half and half either side, And then pretty quickly in into that second period after the the power play expired, Sangho Bay he you used his speed, got up ice and put one past Kimlin off a off a feed from Brian Soltero and Sebastian Silvestra and that was their sixth official shot of the game and we were down two nil. thoughts guys on the on the period.

Matt: Yeah, I thought when Mr Love Island wasn't showing off, he actually looked like quite a good player. he certainly, I spent a part of the third period up in the main grandstand, stood next to you know, the hardcore Bears supporters and they were certainly giving him a fair amount of abuse. And I think that was that was coming through on the on the television feed. He was getting a few boos. But, yeah, I mean, he looked to He looked an intelligent and creative player, but by golly, he was angry, wasn't he? And so was Bouchard. mean, there were times when Bouchard was morphing into Radko Goudas to me. He has the same facial features and beard and that nuggety body and frame, but those two guys were really on something on the weekend. yeah, look, I think it was disappointing. I looked at the clock at about... minutes through and I think they'd only had nine shots on goal at that stage. But I thought Lucas did exceptionally well. Our goal was really nice to see. know, Brian and Nick combined and there was a beautiful pass slid across the ice for Lucas. And when I again watched that goal on replay, was very clever with his stick to lift that. that puck over Oberoi as he spread and covered the bottom part of the net. yeah, other observations. I thought Oberoi, again, very difficult to beat, but he did give up a few rebounds this week, Nathan. Obviously, that talks to the observation that you made around so many of our shots being high danger. Kimma was very vocal with our D. towards the end of the period. Good to see Kim a direct in traffic and trying to keep the standards high. I Ox had a very strong first two periods again. I did chat to him after the game and I think the game's against Melbourne and certainly this week I think Ox has taken his play up to another level, which is good to see. And Goose had a very, very good chance at the end of that. second period where he was in alone and he went high on Oberoi again to a point earlier made by you Nathan. aside from that my only other observations were how many players were sort of mishandling the puck. The ice quality looked, know, players overskating the puck particularly in the neutral zone. So it's good to see the Zamboni out and getting some quality back on the ice after the end of the second.

Nathan: Yeah, and look again, I think the in in terms of what we were sort of generating in the way of opportunities was probably mirrored from the first period, but just simply at at higher volume. a lot of opportunities down low. You know, Finn, Nick. I think Nick had Nick had four high danger looks in the second period. Dex had two and I think had a total of maybe seven high danger looks in the slot throughout the game. we were really peppering Oberoy you know consistently and again I think the what made his performance you know that more impressive was puck movement at times was very quick. certainly in comparison to some of the more recent games that I've seen live at Macquarie, I did feel like when we when we were pressuring the Rhino's net and we had genuinely set up in the zone We just looked a little bit more in sync. you know, it may have looked like this in in in Melbourne as an example when we had that that performance against the ice. but I felt like Oberoi was probably moving around quite a bit. And I feel like there was a lot of sort of east-west movement and a lot of passes sticking as well. but again, from a from a net perspective, Not enough finish. the in rink had us down for 24 24 shots on goal through the second. we we weren't as generous. but again, you know, 73% of what we did generate was effectively in the low slot or even or even second second chance plays in tight on Oberoy. So I think we take a lot out of that. you know, there's a lot of mechanics to our offense at the moment that seems to be gaining, you know, the right type of momentum. It's just a matter of finishing finishing more of these chances.

Matt: One other point that I wanted to just call out, after the power play on Sylvester's second penalty expired, it was about 10 minutes into the period, literally as the penalty expired, we were faced with a 2 on 1 against and Kevin Sadowfsky played that exceptionally well. We conceded a goal after a power play expired the week before one of the things that, you know, as well as complimenting Kev for the way he played that, one of the things that I noticed about the way the Rhinos kill penalties is they really put pressure on you at the blue line. And that causes an awful lot of turnovers where they can use their speed to go down the other end. So, you know, if the pucks moved along, blue line they used Bay and Silvestre and Sotoro and all of that good quick foot speed to put pressure on point men and players on the blue line and that's where they really try and turn the puck over. But Kevin did a great job and it was good to see us avoiding a goal against after a power play expired this week.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, I I thought actually after we gave up that second goal which was off the rush, both goals were very similar. The

Matt: See you later.

Gordon Goodenough: Rhinos using using their speed. There was a play it was either in the in the second or towards the third that I thought exemplified it when we had possession, the offensive zone, the puck was a a loose puck. Tyrone Oxlade was at the blue line. And I think in any other situation you would expect the defenseman to kinda pinch, go grab the puck, keep it in, but the forward on the rhinos who was, you know, about the same distance away from the puck was Sangho Bei. And so you saw him just collapse back, just recognise, okay, if if I go get it, he's gonna burn my other defensive partner, potential breakaway on on Kimlin. I just thought that was a really smart recognition and just a change of of strategy to be like, Okay, we've we've been beaten for speed on two goals, we're not gonna give up a third. the Rhinos did get some chances like you mentioned, Matt, and I thought Kimlin was outstanding in keeping it to a two goal game and then a one goal game. he was he was excellent in from From when he gave up that second goal, one minute into into the second period until the end of the game.

Matt: Official stats, I've came a face in 22 shots, but I think he made four or five really big saves in those 20 saves that he made.

Gordon Goodenough: Yep. So we we get to the third period and I I tell you what, doing the commentary on on this one, I was getting pretty nervous. I y just thinking about about the fact that we'd had all these games go our way and we needed to get the job done. but yeah, talk us talk us through the third guys. What did you see in the third period?

Nathan: I thought the push was really good. Really, really good. And certainly, you know, probably demonstrated some of the mentality that we've seen the team, you know, roll out with in the last few weeks to make sure that, you know, some results did did go our way. I think, you know, certainly from a from a discipline perspective, you know, throughout the game, really strong. But I think when when the Rhinos were applying pressure, I think we did a really good job of just. just making sure that we were disciplined with our sticks, etc. you know, I think that again, with the puck, we were quite outstanding. again, a lot of a lot of really quality you know setup and you know chance generation from our guys. Again, Oberoy very busy in the third. But again, you could you could just see the guys you know, they were skating hard. I actually went down beside the bench to take in the game for the third and I was, you know, predominantly interested to see, what the body language looked like, what the talk appeared to to be on the bench. And I must say, you know, there was a lot of a lot of really positive chatter. You know, you could see guys, you know, motivating each other. And it just looked like a team who who knew the importance of the game number one, but we're gonna make sure that, you know, this wasn't a lost opportunity in a massive in a massive moment. we we did have the mentality and the body language, the compete level. we probably had a bit more production and and end result off the back of that. so I think overall there's some there's some really good takeouts out of that third that we can hopefully again continue to build on and take forward.

Matt: I think there were some positive signs that I picked off. Tommy Landau, great block and breakout in our defensive zone to create a chance. Finn had a great read where he sort of stepped into a play in the, as the Rhinos were attempting to break out, created an opportunity for himself. couldn't quite get the puck up and over Oberoi. Kimmer made a huge save on Sotoro before. Ruben scored his goal. But yeah, great to see Ruben score again. I think he was his sixth of the season, Gordie. Just he went short side again. know,

Nathan: It's a bit of a trademark at this point, isn't it?

Matt: well, funnily enough, I had a chat with him in the governor and he was like, I love the short side. But I looked at the replay and about 30 seconds before he scored the goal, he had a very, very similar opportunity. It was almost a carbon copy of the play. And that time he went far side and missed and the puck rang around the boards and they went down the other end and then we came back up and Ruben scored. So yeah, Ruben went short side and think Goose went short side as well for his goal. Both of them high part of the net to the things that we talked about earlier. yeah, love it when Rubes and Goose score those sellers a top, top. aren't they? And I think Nick needs to take a lot of credit. That sort of tied a wave of pressure that we brought, know, three goals in, what was it, four or five minutes, Gordie. But Nick's patience for the fourth goal was outstanding. He stepped in, he made Oberoi move as soon as he moved and opened up his legs, he slid it through the five hole. So delighted to see all the hard work pay off and the diligence that the boys showed on assignment. But to get those two big goals from the young kids and then Nick put the icing on the top of the cake was awesome.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, I I thought the the source on the pass from Brian Chambers to Nick Seitz was incredible. And speaking of, quick shout out. Kevin Sadowski springing Finn Withy on a breakaway in the second period with an Eric Carlson twenty seventeen esque pass to Mark Stone. i it's it's a shame couldn't couldn't finish it. But that was a beautiful little a aerial pass that that went straight on the tape of of Withy and sprung him for the breakaway. So shout out to him. That goal from Ruben Nalos was exquisite and it it it was nice that it was a third line. I thought the third line was excellent in that final period in Melbourne last week and it it they were excellent as well throughout the game and and It was nice that they got a goal. The second line gets a goal through through Goose. And Goose, mate, he he finds a way to get underneath play skins. Like we're talking about Bouchard and Sylvestra. You know, th they weren't angry for no reason. This was this was Goose just amping things up and managing to to as the young Brad Marshawn to be able to get under their skin.

Nathan: These guys are these guys are teenagers matched

Matt: Hmm.

Nathan: up against very experienced, you know, l long tenured pro players. And and to watch to watch some of our young guys just not care at all and and just engage and and make sure that they're sending a message is is pretty impressive actually.

Matt: Yeah, two shout outs on Goose's goal. Dex and Tommy Lander both had apples, both had a huge part in that goal. mean, obviously that's, you know, that's a fairly straightforward comment, but the plays that they both made to get Goose in position to score that goal need to be acknowledged. We did have a little bit of luck almost straight away after the restart from Ruben's goal. Sangano Bay went down the other end and hit a crossbar. So we could very easily have been talking about, we've just scored and immediately conceded again. So we did have a little bit of luck there but yes, it was not to be. A bit of luck for the Bears finally and yeah bang bang bang, three goals and good night.

Nathan: And and the celly from goose? Unbelievable. And it was really well captured by I'm trying to think of our it was it

Matt: Seb Ackle

Nathan: was Seb who caught it, was it?

Matt: that was a brilliant video clip that he put together.

Nathan: Unbelievable.

Matt: Yeah.

Nathan: Yep. Some of the celllies this year have been top draw. I'll have to off to chat to seven, see if we can get a bit of a compilation video of all the all of the peak selles over the course of the season at some point. But no, that was that was a really nice moment. And the it the place was jumping at that point. The guys were buzzing, the crowd were into it. certainly the second half of the third down by the bench, it was loud. It was maybe as loud as I've heard it this season. You know, some of those football theme chants again. you know, making making an appearance which was awesome. and, you know, for the listeners out there who, you know, do enjoy, you know, some chanting and and getting noisy in the stands, it feeds the guys. It it it is it is absolutely an element of what you see when the guys are out there pushing. so yeah, please, please keep it up for these last two games.

Gordon Goodenough: Just a final shout out as well to Kimlin who stoned Danick Bouchard with six seconds left. And some but one guy that hasn't celebrated at the Macquarie Ice Rink against the Sydney Bears is Danick Bouchard, who has sixty eight points on the season. He's played twenty eight games this year. He's scored or recorded points in twenty six of those twenty eight games. The only two games that he hasn't scored in a Both against the Bears at the Macquarie Ice Rink. July twelfth, no points. And then this past Sunday, zero points for Danek Bouchard. So great work by the team to be able to quiet one of the league's superstars.

Matt: There was a little bit of nonsense in the handshake line. the end I saw

Gordon Goodenough: Mm.

Matt: Silvestre Peter began misconduct so he would be having a week off after his debut. I did want to call a couple of the other guys out. I did notice that Jerry Braun stepped in very, very quickly when Silvestre and Bouchard both directed some ire at Goose and I saw Teagan giving Bouchard a little bit of friendly advice and instruction as well as he was escorted off to the dressing room so good to see the boys getting around Goose and Goose also picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct for getting speared by Bouchard and ragdolled by Sylvester so naughty boy Goose.

Nathan: Few a few other takeouts here. We were sixty three in the dot over the course of the third period. no penalties until, you know, Bright took that late one with five seconds left on the clock. Again, these are just some of the little details that matter a lot when you're either trying to chase a game you know, like we were, and then and then trying to lock it down as well. So again, just some of these some of these little ingredients. and you know items that are now becoming a little bit of a theme to our game, particularly sort of second and third periods in particular, which is which is really pleasing to see.

Gordon Goodenough: So that brings us to next weekend. Let's we ready to move on and preview our weekend. we play the Perth Thunder and the at at the Macquarie Ice Rink and and then the following weekend of course is the final weekend of the season. We play the Newcastle North Stars. but this week it's Perth. Perth are currently in the spot above us on forty five points with twenty six games played. So they have four games left. We have two. We could potentially leapfrog them temporarily and get into fourth spot with a win this weekend. We've got the ice behind us on forty one points, two points behind, and then the ice dogs on forty, three points behind. But the Ice Dogs do have a game in hand and they do own the tiebreaker as should they be tied on points with us. So let's get into it. what are we expecting this weekend, guys?

Nathan: Well, I think with Perth, I believe they're coming off perhaps five straight is it five or six straight losses. five five straight.

Gordon Goodenough: straight. Yep.

Nathan: I would expect them, you know, particularly given the opportunity ahead for them with with some games in hand, you know, they're gonna turn around turn it around at some point. We have to approach this game in a manner that We're expecting their potential turnaround to to be this weekend. So we're gonna have to be on high alert. look, they've got a lot of weapons. We've spoken about it before. You know, probably the big three Plouf, Horochek, and Tikasaka. you know, very consistent, output, all very dangerous in their own right. They probably lead the line for for the Thunder, but beyond that, at least when when fully healthy and available. They are actually quite a deep team. They're very mature. There's a strong familiarity playing together in this group. There's a lot of AIHL experience. And, you know, I just wouldn't anticipate the Thunder to continue their most recent level of form. So we need to be on high alert. You know, every every game needs to be needs to be treated like a finals game for us at this point. And yeah, really, really looking forward to this one, that's for sure.

Matt: Yeah, I'd be expecting a bounce back after that 6-0 defeat at the hand of the Mustangs. I did look at the numbers on that game. The Mustangs were on the powerplay six times. Torjven got shelled for an 8-28. So I would expect Perth being the good, strong quality outfit that they are from top to bottom to target next week as a bounce back. I think we say this almost every week then. The boys are going to have to bring the A game. and expect a very, very tough battle.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, we played them once this season. I mean we were quite depleted with the lineup, but we we went to Perth and and they beat us six to one. So we we will be looking to even the the season series with a win, possibly. I I feel like if if we look at the two games ahead of us, we've got to win at least one. ideally it'd be nice to get points in both, whether whether it's four points across two games. But i it feels like we need one. You look at the Ice Dogs, they're gonna be playing the Rhinos who are going to likely be without Sangho Be, without Sebastian Silvestra, without Rafael Bastille. so they're gonna be playing a a depleted Rhinos lineup. You you'd have to think that they'd be favourites, and then they travel up to to Boundle. It it will be a tough series at Boondle, but still that's ninth place team. facing, the finals live. So I I don't think we can count on any losses and Melbourne Ice, they play the Adelaide Adrenaline. The Adelaide Adrenaline, you they've they've had a couple of good weeks, but I I think away from home in Melbourne, you'd probably say the Ice would be heavy favourites. And then the Ice host the Canberra Brave and you know, we've we've seen the brave be able to to handle them, but again, I don't know if we want to be in a position where we need another team to do us a favour.

Nathan: Yeah.

Matt: 100.

Nathan: absolutely. I I think a few little takeouts here. So over the last four games the Thunder power play's been going at a seven percent clip, which is obviously well under what I'm certain that they were, you know, tracking at before that. Now penalty kills sitting a tick under eighty percent in the last four games. So hopefully some of those numbers continue to to roll out in the same vein. I think when we look at discipline, the Thunder are a much more disciplined team overall than what than what we are. So hopefully we can bring out some of the themes that we've we've seen. In our game over the last few games, and even the game against the Rhinos, where the discipline was was absolutely outstanding. that'll certainly play a key role. But I think two two things for me heading into last weekend, I did say that I was gonna keep an eye out for the power play. We we need the power play to start showing up. we did just cover the fact that at times we actually looked quite threatening, but again, we went four. We have to get it going. We we can't continue being anemic on the power play. we need more than looks. We need we need goal scoring output. so that's something again that we need to have turnaround really quickly. And recently we've we've been struggling to hit double digits in terms of shooting percentage. we can't keep hovering around this sort of eight and nine percent shooting. I think we were just under eight percent on the weekend. Th those numbers eventually are gonna start making life a bit more difficult for us. So let's hope let's hope our shooters have got you know got their groove on. And we can we can put some through the Thunder who at times can can leak goals. We've seen that recently, but again I'm I'm actually anticipating that this game will be a close one and very, very hardly fought.

Gordon Goodenough: this feels like you know let's let's win this one. Let's win this one and then and then we will see where we're at the the following week. But keep things within our control as long as we can. but yes. so that's that's the preview. we are excited to have a mailbox segment of the pod and thank you very much for everyone who responded. Let's go through them. We've got Carl who has sent who do you believe to be our most underrated player this season so far? And also will there be a merch drop for the pod?

Nathan: I think the the immediate names that would come to me would be Tyrell. I I've said before on the pod and Matt certainly has as the what is it, the the CEO or interim CEO of the Torrell Clare show.

Matt: I've resigned from that role Nathan.

Nathan: you've resigned, okay.

Matt: Yeah, although I've been appointed by the Clare family as the chairman of the Pumpkin and Lola fan club now and Pumpkin and Lola are Tyrell and Clare's kittens.

Nathan: yes. Look, I know the Clare family very well.

Matt: Yes.

Nathan: I wouldn't follow any of their guidance, but you you can you're your own man. And you are a paid CEO, so I can't really question any move that you make. okay, sure. you can edit that out as well.

Matt: Well, let's not talk about that. I did promise Claire in Melbourne, which was many weeks ago, that I would mention Pumpkin and Lola, and it's been about four or five episodes since then. So my apologies to the Claire household.

Nathan: That seems very sincere looking at your face. yeah, so look t Tyrell, I I certainly think Tyrone Oxlade and I'll throw I'll throw Ruben Nalos in there as well.

Matt: I hate to say it, but I've got to say it. I don't think I've seen Tyra make a mistake this season. So, he gets my vote.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah. I I I'm gonna drop Dexton Moselle in it. I d I just think ever since he arrived, I mean y you notice him every shift and he's just a pain in the backside for other teams and gets to the net front and he's he just seems like such an interesting energy bringing character to to a dressing room as well and he's growing the mow again.

Matt: I was going to say kudos to you, Gordon, for elevating the profile of the Mo from the lowly standard of the Bez and Beers podcast to AIHLTV broadcast.

Gordon Goodenough: Yep, haven't haven't been fired yet, so I'll wait for that pink slip to come shortly. But yeah, he he'd he'd get my vote. But all all all the guys you've mentioned, I think, have been enormous for us a as well.

Nathan: D do we throw a Kenny a k Kenny Hayashi? You could name it you could name a bunch of guys, honestly, but he has. S same as Finn. You know, those guys have been

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, yeah. I mean he's he's he's had to play multiple positions sometimes within the same game. so yeah. Yeah.

Nathan: moving moving up and down and around all the time, so

Gordon Goodenough: Yep. so thank you for your question, Carl. We've got Haley. Who do you guys think will win the fan favorite award this year?

Matt: Goose.

Nathan: And the fan favorite.

Matt: I didn't mess around there, Gordie, nor did I pick seven options as has just recently happened. So yeah, straight in goose is my vote.

Nathan: I've gotta throw two in there. I I'm thinking probably Dex or Herms.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah. I I I reckon Hermes. He's Yeah.

Nathan: That's a tough one. That that's a really tough one. Like our guys are great with the fans, high level of engagement. but yeah, that they're probably my my two.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, I'd I'd I'd go Herms. He's he's on a twenty four game point streak, scored his twenty-fourth gold of the season last weekend. Shout out to Noah Moncrief playing his one hundredth AIHL game, forgot to cover that. is as well, and he's he's a big f fan favourite also. next

Matt: think, sorry Gordie, I think if Nick hadn't been injured, he'd be a strong challenger in that space as well.

Nathan: n no

Gordon Goodenough: Yep.

Nathan: no doubt about it.

Gordon Goodenough: Yep. Yep. I was just about to read the one from Katie.

Matt: Tell us Katie's question Gordon.

Nathan: Yeah, if you can throw that out there, that'd be great.

Gordon Goodenough: my question is how come the guy who does your socials is so damn smart and funny and sexy and can I have his number? it's it's nice. Thanks, Katie, for being my number one fan. Yeah.

Nathan: I'll send you a response, Katie, no problem. I've done a really good job on the socials this year. o

Matt: Huh.

Nathan: overachiever.

Gordon Goodenough: this one's from Pat. high lads, long time first time. Wondering how you feel about Herman's presence and playstyle when he's wearing an A compared to the C. Personally, I prefer him with the A on, gets more mongrel in him. Not to take away from his leadership, but he's so good when he's being scrappy. Thoughts.

Matt: For me, I don't think it really matters if he's wearing an A or a C. I think there are two things. One relates to Herms and one relates to Ryser. When Herms is playing with a smile on his face and you can see he's having fun, and Brian spoke to me the other day about how much fun he's having on that line with Herms and Nick. When Herms is having fun, he's just a great player to watch. Nathan, you referenced a certain type of energy he exuded a couple of weeks ago. I think all of that comes out when he's having fun. The point I wanted to make about Ryzer is we mentioned the other day, and I think the words that you used, Nathan, was it just looks right with him out there. So I think you have a captain in Herms, whether he wears a C or an A, and when the captain and the coach is on the ice, I think that elevates the other players. around him, particularly on the back end, but also the team. And you can see Riser's coaching while he's playing. you know, for me, I think on that basis alone, I prefer Herms with an A, because we're a better team with Riser on the ice. But we're an even better team when Herms is smiling, having fun and sharing us all the tools in his kit bag.

Nathan: Yeah, it's it's it's actually an interesting question. it's not necessarily something that I've thought thought of, at least from that angle. Honestly, I I I wouldn't think the letter would make a difference, in in my opinion. it's probably more in game scenarios and events that take place. and the nature of the opposition and their personnel that would probably lead to I guess a certain body language or more animation out there, more so than the letter, in in my opinion, but it's definitely an interesting question.

Gordon Goodenough: I think you can be freer without the C. Like, you know, I I've I've seen one of commentator games at Macquarie and I've seen, for example, against the Melbourne Ice you get Matt Carowana comes up to Herms and is complaining about something that's going on w something that some player did and you know, didn't get noticed by the ref and, you know, trying to tryna get him to police it. And so, you know, there's there's just the extra layer of stuff that comes when You're the captain. Like unlike Pat said, it is an extra layer of of responsibility, I guess. how you project yourself as kind of contagious and people looking to you wearing the sea, but yeah, probably probably similar. I I think I think yeah, it's just yeah, him him feeling freer whether that's with the sea, whether that's without the sea. I don't know, but mate, he's he's just I'll I'll take Lucas Herman with a C, with with an A, with no letter. you know, he's he's he's been our best returning import that we've had in a long, long time. Well since Riser, but as as far as a forward producing point producing import, I I don't think people realise how special And how rare it is that we've got a guy that comes in and consistently produces over two points per game. Th like t two games a season, both in the first three games of the season when he didn't record a point. He's been huge, for us.

Nathan: And and if you were to, you know, conduct a vote, you know, around the locker room, you you would find that there would be overwhelming you know, an overwhelming suggestion that that Herms is just a flat out leader. He wants to win. the backbone to why he why he wears the C and wears a letter by default on on our club. and and don't forget as well, you know, he's he's supported by, you know, a group of of players. S some wear an A, others don't, but there there is there is an extended group, you know, that That sort of takes the reins from a leadership you know perspective. You know, even even someone like Dex, he he's definitely a guy that would that would show leadership qualities and there's there's you know, there's also other guys in there that that aid to that that mix as well.

Gordon Goodenough: And then the bonus question from Pat is is it about time the Bears find a new home for games since Macquarie Ice Rink aren't making life easy for them? look it's it's a it's a difficult question. but we're we're here to feel the difficult questions, aren't we?

Nathan: That's what it says on the contract. so a few things. Macquarie has been the home of the Bears for a long time. There's a lot of history. There's, you know, a very long standing partnership with the Rink in our club. there is no plan to change any of that. I think like any longstanding partnership, you know, there there'll always be little moments in time and little events that take place that, you know, one party or both might be a little bit you know a little bit upset with. But at the end of the day, the the the partnership between our club and and the rink is not something that is you know, a massive a massive issue into the future, I would I would suggest. and certainly the club has has no designs on on looking at an alternate home to to Macquarie. You know, I can say that I can say that with confidence. maybe there's been times this year where there's probably been some some unique and unfortunate you know, happenings around the rink. But, you know, what I would say as well is that we should be, you know, very grateful for a much improved venue that we get to enjoy every game day. And I think anyone who's known Bears hockey for any length of time would agree that, you know, hockey at Macquarie is probably the best it's ever been. And hopefully it will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future. So yeah, certainly certainly no plans to move out of Macquarie, but can can appreciate the question as well.

Gordon Goodenough: Great. thanks Pat. our next question from Samantha. who do you think has had the most growth this season or which import has seen the most incline slash decline in their time with the Bears? So that the first part was who do you think has had the most growth this season?

Nathan: Matt Wiggins.

Matt: Wouldn't the career or season stats suggest Gustav?

Nathan: absolutely. If if you were to look at like just to kick off, Goose, Ruben, Logan Brody, you know, Logan's obviously departed for the US, but

Matt: Yeah, yeah, I think it's really good.

Nathan: you know, all really all of our young guys, absolutely. I think when it comes to imports, without sort of sitting on the fence here, don't forget, you know, sure at times we have clips and some footage on players. before they come in, of course. you know, we have a level of education around anyone that we bring in. We still don't know the player at that point as intimately or anything close to it as we do now. So it's very difficult for us to sit here and say, as an example, you know, you know, just going from the top, you know, I don't know what Herms looks like now versus what he looked like day in, day out in France. You know, I think if we look at Nick, I've said on the pod before, we had a very high level of education around the player that Nick was. I think if we look at what Nick has contributed to our group so far, I think that would be in line with where we would have hoped that he would be based on some of the intelligence that we had on him as a player. And I'm just continuing to go down the line here. We've also mentioned Goose, Logan, absolutely phenomenal seasons. from both guys, you know, the way they conduct themselves off the ice, the application to the game, and certainly the way that they've looked so comfortable playing against men every weekend. you know, which is obviously not something that they've had a great deal of exposure doing. That's been impressive. You also throw, you know, someone like Ruben into the mix in that conversation as well. Absolutely. Let's be let's be real here. There's a there's a bunch of guys. you know, but to to pick out one is really difficult.

Matt: And it's here.

Nathan: It really is.

Matt: Yeah, I I mentioned Gustav, I've got a soft spot for Ruben. I think he works his tush off every single game and so pleased to see him when he scores big goals, really big goals in the last couple of weeks. I that goal against Melbourne was, even though there was daylight between us and them, that was still a big goal. So and to your point, Nathan, I think if Logan hadn't have been injured and obviously fulfilling obligations overseas would be having a very in-depth conversation about him. I think he was second in scoring for a long time. So I think the wrap-up of all of this is we've seen some incredible progress shown by the young guys.

Nathan: Yeah, and and even even someone like Bodie Jerome, he was injured very early on, which was very unfortunate. But in the very small sample size that we had of Bodie Jerome, again, another young guy who looked very competent at the AI level. Hugo Arps

Matt: Yeah.

Nathan: returned to Finland early, which was always part of the plan. But again, Hugo at sixteen did not look out of place in the AI playing against men and quite often

Matt: No.

Nathan: seasoned pros. Very impressive. so I think I think there's a lot of takeouts there. I I've I've already said I think Tyrell's playing the best hockey that I've seen him play. Tyrone Oxlade I think can continues to develop and trend in the right in the right direction. had some really good conversations with him over the last few weeks, but I think overall he feels pretty good about where where his game is at. So look there's you can you can tell a story around any player, which I know probably doesn't answer this question, but it it it is a very difficult one to to answer.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, e even a guy like Tyrone Oxlade, who is playing tough minutes, has you know, most highest points total of his career this season as well. You know, he's he he's looked more comfortable jumping up into the rush even from the start of the season and that first kind of seven or eight games, until now, he looks like a different player. He looks like he's got more confidence, he knows when to take players on, he's lifting sticks, he's he's winning battles. there's a a lot of positives. I for for me personally I I know we we talked about it earlier Nathan you and I on on on a phone call earlier this week about one of the things I'm looking forward to is you know, I'm invested in these young kids now. And looking forward to seeing what a Bodie Jerome, what a Hugo Arps, what a Ruben Nalos, what a Gustav Remlerjensen, what a Logan Brody, what a Tyrone Oxlade, what what they kind of develop into over the next, you know, you know, Colby Schumak, what what they develop into over the next, you know, two, three, four, five years, hopefully as members of of the Sydney Bears.

Nathan: Yeah, absolutely. when I was using that that reference point on Nick earlier, very similar to Dexton Moselle. we'd been talking with Dexton for for several years. We we had a a great understanding for sort of the the playing profile that that he brings. And I think everything that you've seen in Dex Moselle at the rink is in line with that of what you know, his hockey previously's looked like. You know, he's a he's a tenacious guy, he's a h very high compete guy, you know, good face off abilities, can play both sides of the puck, can play on both sides of the special teams, very versatile player, you know, can play up the middle, can play wing. he's sort of that Swiss Army knife type. And certainly someone who, you know, already demonstrates such a high level of passion for our club. and the people associated with it. And he you know, he's got a real terrier type attitude. You know, he's a he's a puck hound. He's compete level and the the the want to be in a battle is is right up there. He's come in and really showcased what we'd projected, I guess, of of him. So certainly cases like that, it it's always nice.

Matt: Mm.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, great. And then our final question from Jordan, which is a a th a three parter really. What got you into hockey? Which NHL team and and why? And also how did you find the AIHL?

Nathan: how did I get associated with the NHL? we had free to air NHL games here many years ago. I think it would have been perhaps ninety-seven. I watched a Stars Blues game. I'm pretty certain it was on Channel Ten late at night. I think they maybe had two games on replay every week. And we're talking about, you know, for the Blues, I think they had Guys like Al McInnes, Pierre Turgeon, Pavel Demetra. they're probably the only guys I can recall, to be honest. And and Dallas had, you know, Yuri Lettnan and Medano and and Hull and these sorts of guys, Sergei Zubov. and I think I just watched the game, you know, really for the first time and probably got, you know, attracted to the speed and the physicality and everything else that came with it. Picked a team. I picked Dallas, you know, during that game and then it just stuck. They had some good teams through that that period of time and won the cup two years later. And then you know, I was a relatively consistent follower of the stars and then really stumbled across the AIHL in 2017 and then I went on to sponsor the team and and you know build some relationships with people and obviously now working on the club side itself now for a for a few years and you know getting to to know the community and everyone within it has has been a been a good experience. But yeah, I certainly I certainly lived in Sydney for many years without actually knowing that the AIHL existed, to be honest.

Matt: going to share my age here. I watched the Winter Olympics from Albert Bill in 1992. I'd always played soccer. I had no idea what this game of ice hockey was, but it looked a bit like soccer. You had a goalie and some players who tried to score goals. And I was like, this is pretty cool. Eric Lindros was on the roster of that, 1992 Canada. Winter Olympic team.

Nathan: Dallas starved legend, Eric Lindross, I might add.

Matt: absolutely. So obviously Great Britain weren't competing. I chose Canada because they were in the Commonwealth. And then by extension, having watched two weeks of ice hockey at the Winter Olympics, thought need to choose an NHL team and it's got to be Canada's team. And I know all those Montreal fans go, if you're listening, sorry mate, but it's the Leafs, it's not the Canadians. So lucked in, in 1992 regular season the Leafs went to the conference final and lost to the LA Kings. 1993 I think they went close again, Gordie, we had couple of years. So really that's how I got into it, I just literally chose the Leafs because they were Canada's team. and I chose Canada because they were part of a common. and little

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah.

Matt: did I know how much misery I was letting myself in for.

Nathan: Quite a sophisticated response actually.

Matt: I'm a senior player, gentlemen

Gordon Goodenough: and and

Matt: Nathan.

Gordon Goodenough: and and the AIHL, how did you find the AIHL?

Matt: You, you Gordon Goodenough dragged me along and then again little did I know what misery I was letting myself in for. So it was you who introduced me to the Bears and to Nathan Graham and I apologize listeners it's all their fault.

Gordon Goodenough: so for me, what got me into hockey, I was born in Canada. We used to to, you know, watch hockey night in Canada and originally when I was gr you know, a little kid growing up, I really liked Mario Lemieux. He was my favorite player. and the Penguins obviously had some success in the in the early nineties. when I was really, really young, obviously. and then My we moved to Australia and my relatives sent us VHS tapes of the Toronto Maple Lee's playing the San Jose Sharks in the playoffs. I believe it was ninety three. And Felix Pop Van was the the goalie for the for the Leafs. And so I I became a Toronto Maple Leafs fan and I I often mull upon the fact that at that age that was pretty much the rare time that the Toronto Maple Leaves actually were competitive in any shape or form. And so I I through false advertising I became a Leafs a Leafs fan, but loved the Sunde era and years. As far as the AIHL again, I'd lived in Australia for a long time and never heard of it. I lived in Canberra and then saw something advertised a about hockey in in Canberra. So in twenty sixteen I went to the Phillips Ice Skating and Swimming Centre and I watched the one of the greatest AIHL games of all time, which was the Melbourne Ice coming to compete against the Canberra Brave. The Melbourne Ice ended up winning the game ten to nine. there were It seemed like a thousand penalty minutes in that game. Geordie Rudrick scored four goals, had two assists. Jo Joseph Hughes had a five point game for the Melbourne Ice. It it was I was hooked after that game. And then I started writing some stuff for NHL teams, and then did an internship with the Sydney Ice Dogs in twenty twenty two where I wor worked for the team. And then in twenty twenty three I started doing some work for the Bears and then doing started doing the commentary for the Bears this season. So I feel very fortunate and privileged and it's been an absolute pleasure, I think, being being with the s the Sydney Bears and the club.

Nathan: Matt, it's been a pleasure having you.

Matt: That was

Gordon Goodenough: thanks, Mike.

Matt: an emotional guardian.

Nathan: It was. I need a moment here. I'll

Gordon Goodenough: Ha ha.

Nathan: just review Woodric's statistics actually. Wow, what what wasn't he dominant? My goodness.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, that that twenty I I remember where we where where I was sitting was inadvertently w it with the volunteers. So it was right next to the bench. so we got like a really good view. Front front row, so you had like the netting in front of us and a player got checked, nearly fell into my lap. it obviously not an experience that you would get. I've been with my uncle to, you know, QMJHL games at at the at the Colossae in Quebec, and and that is amazing. It's definitely different, but that has its own beauty and its own charm, I think. and mate, you can't question the the just the pure entertainment that, you know, the AIHL can bring.

Nathan: absolutely. I I remember I think what took me and I'm actually thinking maybe it was twenty eighteen now where I started going to sort of I guess consecutive games, you know, that would have been Annisley, you know, Tommy Lander, Mike Schlamp, I think some of the imports back then, Jackson Brewer was one guy that I recall. and and the Bears were a good team you know, during during those years as well. But that that was very much, you know, that era where, you know, certainly Lander and and Schlamp were were very, very dominant. and it was yeah, just the entertainment value was unbelievable and it got very addictive very quickly, that's for sure. you know, I spent a lot of time, you know, connecting with people in the stands and making sure stock was rotating at the bar and doing the same down at the merch stand and it was it became a whole thing there. and then has obviously grown into this. I I think what one good opportunity for us, you know, as we roll out more and more pods, you know, hopefully we can get the chance to. hear the background stories of of more and more people you know around the club in in their respective roles, whether it be on the club side or the fan side. So you know very much looking forward to that. And I think that's actually a great segue to announce that the guru who equips me with all of this wonderful stuff every week, Nick Austin, who works alongside alongside me in hockey ops and and certainly does a lot of work on our bench as well. he's actually hoping to jump on the pod with us next week. So that'll be a good opportunity to get you know, insights from a different angle and and get to learn a a different personality as well.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, very good.

Nathan: And certainly an upgrade from me. I I al already feel up my my role's threatened here.

Matt: speak for yourself. One thing that I should mention, Gordon

Nathan: I did.

Matt: and Nathan, is a couple of people came up to me at the game last week and asked two questions. Number one, please tell us that you're not going to go away during the close season. And number two, assuming that you're not, what will you be doing? So leave that with us. We will have a think about it. Almost part one of that strategy, we're giving you a bit of a sneak peek with with Nick joining us. But Gordie and I did have a whiteboarding session in the car on the way back from our road trip to Canberra. We just need our silly ideas signed off and endorsed by the boss man Nathan Graham. So we should have some news at some point in the next few weeks.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, it's it's n it's wonderful how many ideas you can come up with when you're not making twenty toilet stops on on the way back. It's was ideas were

Nathan: That was such July humor.

Gordon Goodenough: Look, I'm living in the past every day, mate. I'm living in the past every day. Yeah, yeah.

Nathan: Yeah. Straight straight into the review.

Gordon Goodenough: but yeah, thanks thanks everyone. Thanks for listening. Thanks for your questions. hopefully that we answer them to to some sort of s satisfactory standard. if if

Nathan: Yeah.

Gordon Goodenough: not, lodge lodge your complaints with Nathan. But yes, no, thank you very much for listening and for your support. we'll We'll have a chat as well, yes, as as Matt said about some things, potential ideas for the for the off season and looking forward to doing some more interviews as as Nathan mentioned of of various people connected to or connected with the organization or or just people who are in love with the with the team and the sport. So great. Thanks for joining us. go Bears.

Matt: Go Bears!

Gordon Goodenough: I think you were muted, Nathan.

Nathan: Let's do it again then.

Gordon Goodenough: All right.

Matt: Leave it in Gordie. Leave it in. I think it's a bugger off Gordie

Nathan: let's not. I'm done everyone. Let's go. Let's go, Bears.

Matt: and Matt. I think

Nathan: Yeah.

Matt: that's what my lip reading said. Go Bears Nathan.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah. Go bez.

Nathan: Go Bears.