Gordon Goodenough: Yes, hello. We are the unofficial podcast of the Sydney Bears Australian Ice Hockey League team. My name is Gordon Goodenough. I'm joined by Matt and Nathan. First of all, Matt, how are you going? Do you have a beer with you on for the pod?

Matt: have a very small Kale Isle which is a spectacular single malt from Scotland with a couple of ice cubes in. So no beer. I saw Nathan in the in our pregame get together. Looks as though he's got a cheeky glass of red. So cheers Nathan and I'm sure you're going to crack a beer shortly Gordie.

Gordon Goodenough: no, I've I've I've

Nathan: His

Gordon Goodenough: got a gin and tonic, mate.

Matt: Mmm.

Nathan: Gee, this is all very sophisticated here.

Gordon Goodenough: This is none of us have a beer for the Bears and Beers podcast. This is well, I don't know what this

Matt: We're

Gordon Goodenough: is.

Nathan: I'll

Matt: we're clearly, yeah, we're still waiting for Stomping Ground to step up with a sponsorship deal,

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah.

Nathan: Yeah, they're probably also waiting for the outreach to be honest.

Matt: I thought you took ownership of that last time. You were like, yeah, I'll get to be a sponsor. Yeah.

Nathan: Typical sales guy. Just talk it up. Talk it up. Yeah, talk it up. Put it in the pipeline.

Gordon Goodenough: Well, we are recording this on a Thursday. The finals weekend seems like a lifetime ago. and we we of course we're gonna wrap up the activities from the weekend. the the results of course we'll run through them just quickly. but on the Friday we'll discuss the the Bears Canberra brave game, spoiler alert. Camber Brave are the team that advanced. The Ice Dogs defeated the Perth Thunder seven to four on Friday. On the Saturday games, the Newcastle North Stars just pipped the Ice Dogs ten to one on the Saturday. And then in the second game on the Saturday, the Canberra Brave got up over the Melbourne Mustangs in a game that felt like the final. four three win there felt. Very much like twenty twenty three vibes in that one. And then in the Good All Cup final, of course, on the Sunday, it was the Newcastle North Stars who took home the two to one win. Matush Trinker in net was fantastic all weekend and ended up taking out the MVP of of the series and the Newcastle North Stars won their seventh good old cup. so congratulations, big congrats to them. Lots of there's always lots of storylines to cheer for for every team. I think the the story with the the Newcastle North Stars, you know, they were definitely deserving H. Newman Reed trophy winners as minor premiers. They led the table it seemed like throughout the entire season. yeah, what what are your thoughts, guys, on the North Stars taking home the the goods?

Nathan: certainly a club with a lot of great people. as you said, Gordy, you know, there's certainly some backstories to that organization and some of the personal adversity that you know, some of their key people have been going through for a period of time now. So certainly, you know, absolutely thrilled for Leanne and Gary Doray, who have been, you know, running the North Stars for a long time. and certainly their their family and and support network and all the staff and volunteers and you know the whole ecosystem and community attached to the North Stars. and obviously there was an unfortunate situation with one of their players and an une unexpected loss passing in a player's family as well. So certainly some really feel-good storylines attached to the North Stars winning, I must admit, you know, standing in the rink you know, as much as we wanted it to be us, you couldn't help but, you know, get emotional watching Gary and Leanne you know, out there celebrating with their group. certainly a fantastic story. And as you said as well, you know, very you know, very good value. I think, you know, they, you know, twenty one wins throughout the season, they had a very, very strong regular regular season and and sort of took that form into finals and overall certainly very deserving winners, that's for sure.

Matt: Yeah, massive congratulations to Newcastle. thought the way they played in the semi-final against the Ice Dogs, it was just a ruthless beating that they handed out there and they hung on incredibly well against Canberra in the final. I did have the pleasure of just spending five minutes with Gary at the last home game of the season at Macquarie and he's a truly lovely gentleman. super pleased for Newcastle, well deserved very much. They should very much enjoy their period as the most successful team in AIHL history.

Gordon Goodenough: Yes, so let's get into our game. i it was a game that in the pre game introductions, I think you could have been led to believe that it was gonna be a blowout for the the Canber Brave. in the end it was far from it, and it was one of the the better matches of the weekend, in my completely subjective opinion. but we got off to a really good start in in that first period.

Matt: I think Mr Graham should he was in rink. We did see his beautiful face on TV. Yeah, saw you.

Nathan: I was certainly in rink, yes. I was there, yes.

Matt: Yeah, we saw you. Your beautiful face on TV a couple of times. The WhatsApp group was going off.

Nathan: wow. We're trying to grow the game here. We're trying to get eyeballs on it. look, I think, e even just to sort of rewind to pre-game, you know, guys came in, you could tell they were certainly very dialed in. you know, had a relatively brief team dinner on on Thursday evening, you know, guys sort of checked out and, you know, got some early rest. you know, you could tell that they were They were there to put their best foot forward, that's for sure. I think there was a really good feeling you know, around all the players and staff, which was certainly a really nice way to kick off the weekend. great first period, really high quality hockey. you know, the Brave probably, you know, had their fair fair share of chances. but certainly you know, we we were really moving. we put we had a lot of intensity to open up the game. you know, it's probably a lot of the things that you would anticipate seeing from, you know, two very competitive and experienced groups, you know, come finals, come finals time. Spencer Cox flipped a puck out of out of play to put us put us on the power play that we were, you know, fortunate enough to capitalize on through Kev Sudowski you know, down low, which was obviously a fantastic. start for us after some really, you know, good good, honest hard work in that that initial period. Justin Malin tied it up unfortunately again not too long after we took the lead, which again this is something that we've been highlighting, you know, throughout the season, where, you know, one minute we'd put a goal away and the next minute the opposition would would return serve relatively quickly. Malin, just for reference, Malin was a real menace in this game. very very creative he was he was very noticeable every time he was on the ice but I thought both teams were quite good value for you know a 1-1 after one and I think going into that first period we we should have felt very sort of proud of just the compete and and sort of hard nosed work ethic that was in our game. We we had some looks probably not as many as what Canberra produced in my opinion. I don't actually have the advanced stats with me, but it was a really entertaining and highly competitive first period.

Matt: Yeah, I think that's a good summary. Nathan's official shots were 17-9 in Canberra's favour after the first. But as you said, we got off to a flying start, govelled on the power play. Reiser who didn't pick up an official assist, really nice outlet pass up to Nick. And Nick drew defenders to him and slid that puck across and Kevin was just cruising in into the slot there. Now, if anyone's like me in a bit of an anorak and they, you know, watch the games on repeat and keep rewinding things and rewinding things and rewinding things to have a look at, just take some time to have a look at all the way all the Canberra penalty killers were drawn over to Nick's side of the ice. So when I actually

Nathan: Nick yep.

Matt: stopped the play, if all four of those Canberra penalty killers were on the Nick's side of the goal post, so the near post the boards all four penalty killers were on that side of the goal and Nick's pass across to Kev he was all alone in the slot Kev picked the puck up just outside of the far post cruised in and then he beat Hasselmann high glove side we talked a little bit last week about that sort of yin and yang of the big ice surface and the confines of AIS and we talked about how we felt that big ice surface would present some opportunities for us. And I thought, picking up on your point, Nathan, the pace in the first 10 minutes was incredible. It really was a track meet, but I felt after that first 10 minutes, Canberra sort of settled in a little bit to that game that we're used to those entries and exits that have got all of the control around. They used that last change as the highest seeded team extremely effectively. I know Nathan, we had a little bit of a chat. about conversations you would have with the players and some of the compliments that our boys paid in particular to the skill and the work of the Canberra defenceman and really having a long look at the way Canberra set themselves up. Cox or who's the crowder? on

Nathan: Bru Bray Crowder.

Matt: the ice every single time Nick set foot on the ice and they were over him like a blanket. top line came on it was usually Cox and Kabara or Crowder and his defence partner so they did an extremely good job as well and then I also noticed they loaded up against the Tommy Lander, Dex and Ruben line Peter Bates was on against that line almost every single time I noticed in the first period so kudos to the Canberra coaching staff for you know, really leveraging what they perceive to be mismatches. I thought as the game went on, know, that Mosel-Nalos-Lander line really started to come to the fore, but in the first period, they were under an enormous amount of pressure. And obviously we know how well Bates drives play and he often plays on a line with either Malan or Ratcliffe. And that's just a matchup nightmare. I thought... Finn had a super strong first period. He's throwing the body, he's winning puck battles and he's just doing subtle simple things. Well, obviously Kev's really grown into his game over the last five or six weeks. So I thought Kev had himself a game, some of his outlet passes and his physicality was very noticeable. Ox had a great little play, sort of two thirds of the way through the period. Canberra tried to lift the puck out. Aereally out in the zone and Ox read the play really well on the halfway line. He just stopped the puck bouncing, kicked it forward and then he was in with a little bit of a cheeky one-on-one chance where he slipped a wrist around and tried to catch Hassemann off guard but the goalie denied him. But I thought, you know, it was an incredible first period to watch whether you're a fan of either team or a neutral. What a great advert for the game of hockey in Australia.

Nathan: Yeah, I I really agree. And I must admit, I I haven't watched the game back. I'm sure at some point I'll probably sit down and watch it. I just don't have the emotional fortitude to actually sit down and and watch it given the result. But when when Cox put us on the power play, I straight away, you know, took notice of okay, how are they gonna set up here? And what was really interesting is they left Herms open or relatively open. and early on in the power play before Kev scored, from memory, I think we may have had a partial change. I think we had part of the second unit on. Herm's actually blasted a low one timer against the grain that Hasselman kicked out through traffic. It was a really sharp stop. And I thought, I do wonder if they're gonna continue to set up like this and obviously fast forward to later in that that that power play opportunity. like what great vision from Seitsee to sort of thread the needle across to Kev. you know, we're we're always talking about, you know, Nick's shot, you know, speed, et cetera. But that was a very different type of play. And it just showcased, you know, just the complete nature of his game, you know, the heads up ability, and and and quite a smart you know, move by Kev. You know, he he he saw an opportunity there and it was just good to see those guys in sync to create an opportunity and And ultimately lead off the scoring. But you know, another observation that you made, Matt, that even people that I was standing with you know, live made very early was it was very clear that Canberra had a set game plan. They certainly made very early indicators that they were very willing to play sort of a dedicated matchup game. you know, the the Herms line could not get away from that matchup. you know, with Crowder in particular, and th they almost suffocated that top line. you know, they're a they're a very well organized, you know, structured team without the puck when when when they want to be or when they when they need to be. And I think that was very noticeable. I don't even recall a moment in the first period where Seitz actually had the puck with any amount of space.

Matt: Mm-hmm.

Nathan: you know, we we couldn't find him with a rush chance. it was just really polished from Canberra and they, you know, they kept good gaps, you know, they they played the man when required. you know, they played more zonal when required. It was it was it was actually a pretty impressive period by both teams, I thought.

Matt: Yeah, I think we, I was really impressed. We talked about the importance of winning that five on five game, given the relative strengths of, Canberra's, special teams, but we made the neutral zone such a fierce battleground for the first 15 minutes of that game. You know, our boys were turning, you know, getting Canberra to turn the puck over. We were winning loose puck battles. It was very back and forth, but, know, distinctly different from when we watched the game in Canberra, gents, where we just couldn't get through the neutral zone and we couldn't dispossess them in the neutral zone. It was a very different story. And I think, you know, obviously a lot of credit goes to the boys themselves on the coaching team for getting them so ready to compete at that level in the neutral zone. But despite the fact that the shots were 17-9, I felt that flattered Canberra a little bit. I thought we were punch for punch, every bit as good as them. One final point before I shut up. You mentioned Malan. Gordie and I were texting one another and Gordie said, wow, Malan's a big game player and he really is a big game player. And just for that equalising goal, maybe we won't talk about the fact that it was offside because it was offside, but they slipped the puck over, Crowder with that sort of slap pass and Ox was all over Malan, all over him like a blanket. And he still managed to get his stick on the ice and that little subtle tip. redirect the puck into the direction of the net which Kimmer was sliding away from. So it was just the finest of margins, that offside, that quick and heady play from Farme and Kabara to move the puck over and get that slap shot in. And then not even half a step, it was a quarter of a step escape blades width that Malan was just in front of Ox to get that tip in to get the equalizer.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, we we will briefly touch on the fact that yes, there was the replays did show that the puck had appeared to have crossed the blue line. There is video review in at finals, but there is a a a select list of things that can and cannot be reviewed and and unfortunately offside is one of those that cannot be reviewed. you know, they need to place additional cameras along the blue line is my understanding and you know that that just wasn't available. so that's just Yep.

Nathan: Sorry to stop you, Gordy. O offside can be reviewed.

Gordon Goodenough: I in in the information sent to commentators, it was it it said that specifically offsides cannot be reviewed this these finals.

Nathan: Interesting.

Matt: good that everyone's on the same page.

Gordon Goodenough: But yeah, it's it's one that will be certainly talked about during the off season. and it happened, you know, they scored that that goal less than a minute after we scored the opening goal. but a very tightly fought first period led to again another very, very closely fought second period and it was another opportunity on the power play. that the Sydney Bears had entering this game, our power play percentage at home was one of the best in the league and running at about thirty-eight percent and our power play percentage away from home was the worst in the league, running at about ten percent. And we obviously scored one from one in the first period, and we scored two from two at the second opportunity in the in the second period and it was Brian Chambers who was Johnny on the spot in the blue paint to put at home. how did you guys see that second goal?

Matt: There was a stunning piece of work from Nick again. He picked up the puck, drove at defenders and I think he was right wing side and he moved to centre ice and ended up left wing side and after he'd drawn defenders in he somehow managed to get the puck back to Reiser who moved it east west to Lucas for that clapper. Again, when I watched it back, noticed Brian's movement. So Brian was originally in front of the net and as the puck got kicked back, he went around the right hand goalpost that we were attacking, lost his defender and he appeared at the left hand goalpost just in time to corral Lucas's, let's call it a slap pass. It could have been a misdirected slap shot, but he did extraordinarily well to get that puck from skate to stick and poke it home, given the juice that we know that Lucas can put on those one timers.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, and then we we held the lead for about nine minutes and then it was Peter Bates who has been one of the most outstanding players for the Brave all throughout the season. There was a question mark as to whether or not he would play. He wasn't initially in in the in the squad in the in the first teamless drops and and then he he eventually did come in. He missed the last week of the regular season and boy he's he's such a quality player for the Brave and he was he was always gonna be threatening for a goal.

Matt: Yeah, he beat Kima Kai Blocker, I think. But looking at the behind the goal replay, Kima could have been unsighted. I think Tyrell was trying to defend Bates as he entered the zone. But I watched Bates very carefully over the whole weekend. I mean, he's one of my favourite players. He skates beautifully and he's just got this unbelievable creative ability. But I did feel that there were times not necessarily in our game, more so in the semi-final and the final, the over-complicated things a little bit. But I really enjoyed, we mentioned this when we went to Canberra, it was such a shame that Nick wasn't available. know, Nick and Bates have got very, very different games, but they both, under, you know, extreme watchful care from defencemen, still managed to get things done. You know, Bates is not at all scared of... take carrying the puck into two and three defencemen and finding a way to dish it off. And for our first two goals, Nick did exactly that. you know, let's all think about the number of times this season where Nick has picked up the puck and attacked defencemen, committed them and then either scored with, you know, wrist shot, a move around the goalie, a backhander. So whilst they're very different players, weirdly You know, they're both doing similar things in the way that they drive play, commit defencemen and then create space if they're not scoring goals themselves. So it was really a delight to watch two masters of their art and two of the very, very best players in the league.

Nathan: Absolutely. I think what w watching Bates live, you really get an appreciation for how quick his brain works. His decision making ability, he always seems to know what he's gonna do before he even possesses the puck. Th the the the the movement and the synchronization and the connectivity when he's on the ice, everything moves so quickly. And obviously by this point, you know, guys have spent You know, a fair bit of time together. There's a lot of in-game time, you know, not to mention practice time, whatever else. But I think that's one thing that really stands out with Bates, particularly live. It's just the speed and the intent that he does things. And obviously, you know, you you look at his CV, very accomplished, credentialed player in, you know, very legitimate leagues and environments. but Yeah, t to see it live when also surrounded by good players, it it it is pretty impressive.

Matt: We had a couple of unbelievable chances in between, no, just after I think Canberra scored. So Zander and Finn, huge shift. Ruben had a huge shift, which was acknowledged by the commentary staff on ESPN. But we ended up creating, Finn took a huge hit behind the net to create, I think a one-timer bang bang play for Noah. And Ruben also had an opportunity and Hasselmann was right out on the edge of his blue paint and denied Ruben. The two teams exchanged crossbars and posts. I think Lucas hit the post, Mietnan hit the crossbar towards the end of the period. But yeah, look again, I thought from a purely observational capacity, it was a great period of hockey to watch again.

Nathan: this period. It it was a real arm wrestle this period.

Gordon Goodenough: And then we we started the third and we started the third with a bang. Lucas Herman scores a massive goal, and there's a couple of images that that I saw on the photography folder. I'm not sure who who took them. but most of the time we've we've seen Lucas Herman score a lot of goals. He scored twenty five times this season. Sometimes it's just a two handed You know, hands over the head, you know, stick raised. Sometimes it's no celebration at all like we saw against Perth. This one in

Matt: Yeah, that's awesome. Look at Ryzor as well. Yeah.

Gordon Goodenough: Like that emotion on on the face, just that almost a primal kind of reaction to scoring a

Nathan: Yeah.

Gordon Goodenough: goal. And then you see Rise's face. Rise's face doesn't change. He's just absolutely

Matt: screaming.

Gordon Goodenough: screaming. Lucas Herman looks like a like a bear that's just growling at his at his prey. I th I thought I thought s I was so pumped for the for the team. you get you get one early, you've got you've got a lead against a team that no one No one was, you know, in the media or or whoever thought that you had even a chance against you thought it was gonna be a blowout game and here you are, Friday night preliminary final up three to two against the most successful team in the AIHL of the last decade. I thought that was a fantastic moment that's gonna stick with me for a long time.

Nathan: I mean to be honest, th th th these photos almost make me emotional, to be honest. Yeah, fuck like the these guys battled. The the battle and the compete and the willingness to get in a grind with one heck of a team was was just unreal. yeah. Yeah.

Matt: We should be enormously proud. think I posted on a couple of... there was a post on LinkedIn, I sent some messages to Ryzer and Nico and Nick. You know, we lost the game, but the heart and the spirit and the class and the grit that we showed throughout that game was, you know, utterly admirable. I would have much rather have gone out the way that we went out than got utterly shellacked by double digits. You know, think, you know, I think we,

Nathan: couldn't agree more.

Matt: you know, we really gave every fibre of our being to the cause in that game and we should be exceptionally proud of it.

Gordon Goodenough: we fell short in the first game in twenty twenty four against the Brave again in the semi final, five to two, and we fell short against the Mustangs in in twenty twenty three where we got we got shut out, I think it was four nil. but this felt different. this felt like you know, in in those other performances we were the favourite and we got beat by the underdog and it it felt like we didn't get our legs going until the third period in some of those games and whereas this this game I think we had every excuse to not show up and to mail it in and to, you know, just say, Okay, we're we're no one rates us. Let's you know, let's do our job and let's just go home and happy days, see ya later. But I think the guys, every single player up and down that lineup just fought tooth and nail and made Canberra work. Like if you think if Canberra had have had an easier game on the Friday night, you know, maybe they've got more in the tank against Newcastle on the Sunday. So, you know, I I don't wanna say that we're the sole reason why the Newcastle North Stars won the good old cup. I'm not saying anything like that, but I'm just saying Canberra knew that they had played a game after Friday night. and I I think, the boys can be very proud. Everyone, on ice, off Ice staff can be very proud of that.

Matt: Canberra had three incredibly difficult games across the Thursday, the Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But going back to some discussion points earlier, I mean, obviously we talked about Cox and Crowder and they're on the ice the whole time against our top line. First two goals were power play goals. This is the first time that our top line broke the shackles of that blanket defence and that match up advantage that Canberra had. Lucas with the goal, Nick and Chainbow with the assists. Bang bang play again. Lucas beat Hasselmann Gloveside with a really smart wrist shot.

Nathan: I thought that line was great.

Matt: I thought our power play looked dangerous throughout the game, Nathan. I don't know what your take was in rink, but I thought we moved the puck around well. know, weren't, Bates was trying to cheat a little bit at times to intercept that part, that pass that we like to slide to Lucas. But I thought our power play looked a legit threat. And obviously we scored two goals on it. But you know, I fancied our chances. We talked earlier about how comparatively poorly, our powerplay has been on the road versus at home, but I really fancied our chances every time we had the man advantage.

Nathan: Yeah, I I agree. I thought we we created a lot. I thought we looked threatening. I thought the power play looked it looked prepared to me. It looked prepared. The puck the puck movement overall was pretty crisp. yeah, I I I I certainly don't think that that the power play was was any, you know, less than what you'd want in in my opinion. I Look, from my perspective, I I just thought, again, I said earlier, I thought the game was just a genuine arm wrestle for sixty minutes. Both teams working their asses off. you know, again, credit to Canberra, Stu Phillips, you know, the coaching staff. I thought they they ran a very organized, coordinated matchup game. They they made the most of that last change. I think they really did a good job of really suffocating us overall. and yeah, look b b both teams, you know, would have walked away at well, they should have walked away very, very proud of the just the degree

Matt: Mm.

Nathan: of application throughout the game. and there you know, there wasn't any rubbish in this game either. You said Matt before, you know, the officiating standard was was good. I agree. I think there was maybe a late was there a late call on Finn from memory that I thought in the circumstance was a little bit odd. yeah, I I didn't really like that one, but look, I I don't think that's the reason why we lost the game. Yeah, sorry, we're talking over each other, mate. Sorry. There you go.

Matt: Yeah, that one, was a slashing chord. looked a bit, yeah, it looked a bit soft as well. I watched it about two or three times. Yeah, that's about the only one. Yeah, I think that was the only one. Sorry. I thought that was the only one, Nathan.

Nathan: Agreed. Agreed. and look, you're not gonna pin shut up, Gordy. This is our show, all right.

Gordon Goodenough: I I'm the only one not talking here.

Nathan: Ha ha ha.

Matt: Sorry, sorry, sorry Nathan.

Nathan: This is our show, mate. You just sit there and direct traffic.

Matt: We did unfortunately concede one minute and five seconds after scoring. How many times have we conceded goals this season as a result of lively boards? It feels it's

Nathan: Yes.

Matt: been every game the last four or five, three or four weeks.

Nathan: Absolutely.

Matt: So Todd, Johnny on the spot there. Crowder let a bomb go. Gosh, it bounced out, didn't it? And Bode Matthew, yeah.

Nathan: That one's stung, just the nature of that stung.

Matt: Yeah, and Bodhi Matthew, who I mentioned to you, Nathan, really impressed me over the over the final series. He is some player for a young kid. He picked up the second apple on that one. then to what's the power play for they scored the winner off? Was that what that was another delay of game, wasn't it? Yeah.

Gordon Goodenough: Yep, yep. That was a killer.

Matt: no, that was Fin slashing call the

Nathan: That was the fi that was off fin slash, correct?

Matt: Yeah, the delay of game was in the second period. yeah, look, mail, mail and again.

Nathan: Yeah, b b both teams scored power play goals following delay of game, flip outs.

Matt: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mail and again. And that last eight minutes car flew past in it just, I think there was a five or six minute period where there's not a whistle. And then that last minute where they hemmed us in our own zone, was death. 5000 cuts wasn't it? You could see the boys working so hard to try and get the puck back and advance it up high so we could pull Kimmer and get another attacker out but you've got to give credit to Canberra. They worked their two she's off to keep the puck in our end and really kill the game. So yeah, what a performance and we have to tip our cap to Canberra. I think they knew that they'd been in a in an arm wrestle and had earned, really earned that win but I'm super proud of our boys. Can't say it too many times so so proud of the way we played.

Nathan: I agree. I I think, you know, there's been years in in the recent past where you could certainly argue that we we we were far from putting our best performance on the ice at finals and you probably at certain times could have even, you know, questioned our our ability to get in the battle, our degree of application at times, but certainly not n not this weekend. you know, if there's anyone out there that watched this game, whether it be live or on a broadcast, and had, you know, the guts to question the work ethic, the desire, you know, the commit level of this group, I would I would suggest that you take a long hard look at yourself.

Gordon Goodenough: Well said. So that's it. That's that's season twenty twenty six done. we we really appreciate this is episode twelve. We really appreciate everyone being with us over the last twelve weeks. It's been a real privilege to be able to cover the the the team and break things down with you guys.

Matt: Did you want to very quickly discuss the awards?

Gordon Goodenough: yes. Yes, thank you. Yes, please.

Matt: That's okay Gordie, I'll play anchorman. You and Nathan can tip around for this mate. So gentlemen, Danic Bouchard was awarded Defenceman of the Year. Please discuss.

Nathan: Well, he he was dominant, wasn't he? I don't th I almost feel like we spoke about him every single episode of the pod this year. so impressive, you know, w what a horse this guy is. Yeah, look I look I think fitting what I would say on this, and this is certainly not a knock, but I know I'd be interested to see how many minutes he played on D versus forward. I I would almost enter sort of controversial territory here. I'm pretty certain that he's listed as a forward. but look, do you know what? Bouchard probably deserves to walk away with something, some kind of league recognition. I don't have a problem at all with him winning this award whatsoever. I you I think the guy's super impressive.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, I'd I'd I'd agree with that. I don't want to knock Danick Bouchard, I think he deserved an award. again I do I I am a bit perplexed that it was defenseman of the year again. but who knows, maybe Mitch Marner can win a a Norris trophy in in in the future. So Yep.

Nathan: and look, sorry

Matt: Yeah, think, sorry, nothing good.

Nathan: mate, I was gonna say he may have played really significant minutes on D. he certainly had that license where he probably didn't really fit any traditional role. He certainly played the point a lot on the power play. just an interesting wrinkle, I think, to that award.

Matt: I've never been a massive believer in winners of the Norris and you know giving it to the defenceman with the most points. Honestly if you want to watch good defenceman, number 97 for the Bears, Ray Crowder, Cox, they're proper defenceman. Moving on, Tendi, Burrows.

Nathan: yeah, look, Burroughs had a fantastic year, didn't he? Absolutely fantastic. this one for mine was potentially, you could argue, one of the tighter races. you know, statistically he was there or thereabouts, but not necessarily a leader. I can only assume that and and this is a team voted award, by the way, all of these awards derive from votes from teams. So the 10 teams vote. I don't know if media does. You may know that, Gordy, but I believe it's the 10 teams. Yeah, exactly. Look,

Gordon Goodenough: No. Just just the ten teams. Yeah, no no media.

Nathan: I'm assuming and I say this with respect to the dogs, or a degree of respect to the dogs. Perhaps teams looked at Hasselman and thought Canberra. They looked at Giesbreck, they thought Mustangs, the same with you know Trinker and Asheida. Maybe there was sort of this feeling of You know, maybe the dogs perhaps weren't as strong as some of those teams. and look, I think Burroughs gave them an opportunity to win every single night consistently. I don't mind it. You really could have put a group of perhaps even as many as five or six guys in a in a blender and pulled a name out. yeah, you know, Oberoy's probably a guy that I'd throw into that mix as well. but look, I I thought it was fine. I didn't necessarily have a feeling on it.

Gordon Goodenough: Yeah, I th I thought it was fine. I think in in our commentators chat Sarah Doromajur, who was goaltender for the Sydney Sirens and the Turkish women's team, she pulled out a stat that Anand Oberoi faced a shot about every forty five seconds on on ice and Ryan Burrough faced a shot every forty two seconds. So

Nathan: Wow.

Gordon Goodenough: for all the criticism about the Central Coast Rhinos having leaking shots, the the ice dogs were much worse with Burroughs in net.

Matt: Wow, that's surprising.

Gordon Goodenough: so I I think from that perspective you could definitely make an argument that that Burroughs was a a pretty significant reason for his team making the good old cup finals.

Nathan: Yeah, like I I look at his game log here and he definitely saw shots. He actually saw

Matt: Hmm. Hmm.

Nathan: shots at a clip that I wasn't necessarily aware of. Just looking at it as a complete sample, he he was a busy boy as well. Definitely a busy boy.

Matt: Given such a sensible and measured response there, Mr. Goodenough, you can now conserve on the MVP Brodie Crane.

Gordon Goodenough: I can see it. I I was maybe a little surprised by it, but I I think if you look at Brody Crane's body of work, particularly leading up to to finals, like it took him a few games to get going when he when he came over. he's a guy that stood out immediately. Peter Bates-esque in his skating and playmaking abilities. I always find it intriguing what people's perception of what the MVP is. Is the MVP the best player in the league? Is the MVP the player who has the most impactful a role on his team that you could say pushes them from a forty five point bubble team to a sixty point playoff team. I i I think people have different interpretations. So depending on your interpretation, I think depends on how you vote. Brody Crane certainly a a fantastic player. I'm not sure if you know you look at the support that he had on the Mustangs and the Mustangs had a a large number of players who are over a point per game, one of the highest rates in the league. you know, I yeah it it just depends on your interpretation of VP.

Nathan: Yeah, I I think it's a good point. You know, don't forget Crane, he ended the season with a three point three points per game pace. All of the guys around him For the most part, they had horses with them at a similar clip. If I look at the Mustangs, there's a big gap down to Timmins at 2.3 a game. again, body of work 18 games. He had a real game-breaking ability. You know, he shot alone, could bust games open. I I actually really like this vote. I I think in terms of importance individual importance to his team in relative terms. I'm I'm pretty happy with with Brody Crane picking this one up. You know,

Matt: Mm.

Nathan: Skatchkov and Harala were a bit of a combo. Hobson Eber were a combo. you know yeah I don't have a problem with this. I quite like it. I I think he's one heck of a player Crane. He shot live

Matt: Agreed.

Nathan: is as good as anyone in the league.

Matt: He's a decent penalty killer as well as we found out to our misery.

Nathan: Yeah, he's a dog.

Matt: Coach Kevin Noble. Don't think there are going to be too many complaints about that.

Nathan: I don't think so. Dominant regular season. you know, I I I think you need to reward that. It's a big body of work. I think you need to reward that.

Matt: Skaters Network Player of the Year was Cal Costa from the Docks.

Gordon Goodenough: I thought it was fitting. you know, out of the eighteen times at the Skaters Network player of the week, local player of the week was awarded six six of those times, a third of them went to Ice Dogs players. So, and Cal Costa I think he racked up three of those. at one stage he was averaging four points per game, which is bonkers. a bonker's return. And he he's he's he's the type of player who provides elite level import production as a local player, which I think is exceptionally rare and a a genuine game breaker.

Nathan: Yeah, agreed.

Matt: very good and finally Loughlin Susha of the Mustangs picked up the Rookie of the Year award

Nathan: Yeah, absolutely no queries on that at all. Again, very impressive to see a kid of his age, you know, come in and make what was a very strong impact. and again, like he he's a he's a compete guy as well. You know, it's not just, a tool a toolkit that is limited. He's a for a young guy, he's a he's a pretty all round player already, I think.

Matt: He's a big boy, isn't he?

Gordon Goodenough: Well, he's a giant.

Nathan: He and he's a big very big unit, yes.

Matt: Awesome. Thank you, Gordie. I'm going to continue for one minute longer in the host's chair. Question of the week came from Jules. Gentlemen, what was your favourite moment of the season? We'll start with you, Nathan.

Nathan: wow. This is tough jewels. I don't appreciate the question.

Matt: You

Nathan: Look, if I had to pick one moment With all due respect to Kimmer and Ty, etc., Hugo Arp's first AIHL goal.

Matt: Great shout.

Nathan: It happened right in front of us on that corner. His parents were there. It was just a whole event in itself. The celebration, the emotion. That's probably one that I'll pick out.

Matt: Grouch out Nathan. Gordie?

Nathan: It's like taking me twelve episodes.

Gordon Goodenough: commentating that first home game at Macquarie against Brisbane on the Sunday, that was that was special in person, doing it in house with Eric Brooke was special. But I think the probably the the top one for me would be the the weekend trip that we did to Canberra. The watching the game on on the Saturday at Macquarie. com again common commentating that in rink for the teddy bear toss and then taking it on the road down to the AIS and you know watching watching there that was a really cool experience with with you guys so that's probably mine.

Matt: Very cool. I'm going to cheat. I've got a few camera was on my list as well. Hugo's goal was on my list as well, Nathan. That feeling of we would stood together and he came. He was literally on the glass, centimeters away from us. And if I don't know about you, but it felt like we were involved in that in some small way.

Nathan: Yeah.

Matt: I think that's the most euphoric I felt all season just in that in that moment. More broadly, you know that our fans have been unreal All the people that have said lovely things to us about the podcast We're just three blokes having a bit of fun, but we just really really appreciate or All the posts all the words in rink There's been some lovely things posted on Facebook and Instagram. So thank you all the friendships I formed with the backroom team at the at the Bears and also my fellow sponsors. And for me personally, just the way the players have let, particularly Gordie and I, are relative outsiders in comparison to you, Nathan, the way they've made themselves available to us. They've not been guarded. They've been friendly. They've been professional. They've been open and really embraced us. A personal favorite moment of mine, which is just humor. The weekend in Melbourne we lost both games but I was lucky enough to be on the same flight as the boys and got a seat next to Nico and I was in middle, Nico was at the window and the aisle seat was empty and I turned to Nico and I said, who do you reckon is going to sit there? Gustav walks down the aisle and I looked at Nico and we both looked at Gustav and I patted the seat and I went, young man? sit down, you've got an hour and a half of learning life lessons from Nico and myself. And Gustav simply went no thanks and put his headphones on and he never said a word for the entire flight. So for me that was the comedy moment of the year. Goose, we miss you my friend, come back soon.

Nathan: That's hilarious. After that game against the ice, which really for me was a turning point in our season. That was a pivotal weekend,

Matt: Yes.

Nathan: in my opinion, in our season. And just back to the the Hugo goal, I think what also made that super special, just rolling back, Rubes picked up primary assist on that goal. I definitely know Shui was on the ice for that goal as well. There's so much attached to all of this. I think that made that super special that he was out on the ice celebrating with some of our fellow or his fellow youngsters, you know, guys that he's super familiar with in front of his family. It was it was an awesome moment. But look for me, you know, look at some of the milestone moments. We had, you know, Kimmer's 200, we had Tyrell's one hundredth point. I think turning back to our younger brigade, to see this new group of young men, because they are men, the way that they conduct themselves, their their level of application and their attitude and approach to what we do is outstanding. To see each and every one of them, and I I even, you know, certainly include someone like Bodie Jerome in that mix as well, who unfortunately went down early due to a really tough injury. It has been so impressive seeing these guys come in and take to the AIHL so seamlessly. They haven't been, you know, hesitant in any way. They haven't been intimidated by, you know, particular matchups and playing against, you know, professional level men at times. I think that's been s probably somewhat understated. And I think that's been a real shining light for us. And it's definitely going to be something that will be very enjoyable to see, you know, down the track, you know, for everyone, you know, following our organization. These guys are going to be a very prominent group of players in Bears colours for a long, long time. and I think I've said on the pod earlier, you know, when we targeted a lot of these guys before the season, we were certainly very well aware of, you know, their personalities and their underlying talent levels. But to think that they would have come in and had such an impact on and off the ice, would have probably been, you know, difficult to project. that that's a huge takeout for me. I I think that's something that will always be a standout attached to this season.

Matt: Very good. Before we all get overly emotional and our eyes start misting up, Gordy tell us what we're going to be doing next.

Gordon Goodenough: What are we gonna be doing next?

Nathan: Should should I quickly so you answer that and then I what I want to do is I I just want to give some info to any of the fans listening around, you know, perhaps some of the bears that they can follow in our off season, th those that are heading

Gordon Goodenough: Yes.

Matt: Let's do that first.

Nathan: overseas. Look, again, I'll keep this thing on the rails, gentlemen. all right, so in no particular order, and th th these are just these are players that have confirmed destinations and all of which are effectively with with their respective teams now. So earlier in the season, Hugo Arps returned to Finland. this is a really exciting story. So Hugo spent several seasons in Finland. he is just wrapping up his U18 program with Kiko Espor is the club. Hugo has actually been promoted to the Suomi Saya. sorry, from the Suomi Sa'a to the SM Saya. This is the highest level of junior hockey. In Finland. So no mean feat. super very, you know, very impressive for a young Aussie kid. and the club that he's with are incumbently a top five sort of club in Finland at most levels, including Liga. The the SM say is a very common pathway into sort of the heights of Liga. There's obviously a hell of a lot of work to do. Hugo needs to prove that he can, you know, elevate his level of production into this this higher tier of league. so let's hope that we can see you know him make that next jump into the SM with some real success. so I definitely suggest that for anyone listening out there, definitely keep track of of Hugo's. you know progress in Finland. Rubs is off to his existing program in the 18U Triple A in the US. he's returning to Elmira. Gustav has already played games with Atlantic Coast in that USA hockey 18U Triple A league, which is a very extensive league across the USA. So he's played two games and he's been good for one goal and an assist already. Logan Brody is off to secure a contract in the North American Hockey League, which is famously known as the Nall. the Nall's a strong league. It's sort of sitting as effectively like a tier two league under the USHL. and in years past we've actually seen guys get drafted from the Nile and certainly it is perhaps a somewhat more common stepping stone than what it used to be into you know real NCAA programs as well. So let's hope that Logan can get over there, you know, secure a contract and you know showcase his talents as well. You know, he obviously had a very strong season with us whilst he was available and you know Playing playing in the null is certainly very, very impressive for those playing at home. Nick Seitz is in France, he would have touched down yesterday. So he's playing in the top league in France, known as Ligue Magnus, for a team called Armia. A-M-I-E-N-S. I think that is the correct pronunciation. I could be wrong, I probably am wrong. and Quite an interesting club when it comes to AIHL as well. I was looking this up before. So we've had so here's just some names. So back in the 19 AIHL season, there was quite a dominant player. I think he actually won the MVP honors, Mario Valerie Trubuco, who played for the Canberra Brave or what was known as the CBR Brave at that point in time. another dominant player that played for the Ice Dogs in 19 was a guy by the name of Tim Crowder. there's Andre Smack, there's Francis Drole, who obviously just won a cup with the North Stars, as did Aziz Barzi as well, a D man who just won with the North Stars, and Danick Bouchard actually played there for a couple of years as well. So there's actually a cohort of players that have played in the AIHL with real success who have played for Army A. in you know the recent history as well. Louis Alive is back with Strasbourg in French two. he spent I think two or three years with Strasbourg. He actually played with with Lucas Herman you know very successfully I think a couple of years ago. so they're just a few guys that you know fans at home if they want to take interest in, you know what some of you know what some of the familiar bears are doing in what is known as our off season. hopefully that helps for for those guys playing at home. And if there's any more forthcoming guys, you know, obviously some of our other imports are probably going to be looking for contracts and different opportunities overseas. I'll definitely update this list on the next pod.

Gordon Goodenough: So that's a a beautiful segue into one of the things that we will be looking to do. We we are likely gonna be moving to Fortnightly records. so we're not disappearing but a little bit less frequently. but we will provide updates on Sydney Bears players. Where are they now? How are they doing? we'll also have some discussions around the NHL and how how things are going there, any news, and If you've got any ideas for content as well, we'll put out a post at some stage and and let us know. We'll we'll see if there's something that you know, that we feel capable of doing that that we can do and we'd we'd like to keep connected with with you guys as well and it's it the fan base that we have here with the Sydney Bears is a truly special one, so if we can help keep people connected in some way that would be That would be phenomenal. hopefully that adequately satisfies your question, Matt.

Matt: You did very well. I think we're all prepared to provide super detailed updates on our respect to the performances of our respective fantasy league teams. Nathan, you're in the league, I believe. What's your team called?

Nathan: Yeah. I I had JT Miller as a keeper for a while in a Cats League, so I had Miller time.

Matt: Very good.

Nathan: but I actually traded him late. I I can't even remember what the return was, but I'm definitely gonna have to find a a a name change. But I think I'm really lucky this year. I've got guys like this is a three-keeper cats league with faceoffs. I'm very competitive. I've got Celebrini, I've got Wyatt Johnson, I've got Matt Boldy, Bouchard, I think there's like two other sort of keeper eligible level guys. So I think I'm I think I'm loaded this year. I'm feeling pretty good. And I'm the and I'm the reigning reigning champion as well. So I just thought I'd sort of slide that in there. It's a formidable force.

Matt: And what is, is this a friends and family league, Nathan, or are you in an organized comp?

Nathan: It's an organized comp that I found.

Matt: Very good.

Nathan: actually it's funny. I I actually found this comp on AIHL fans before it turned into a a proper clown show. so yeah, it served me well over the last seven years or so.

Matt: I discovered that my fantasy draft is this week and I have

Nathan: wow.

Matt: done absolutely nothing to prep for it. I did, it's,

Nathan: That's early, is it? That's an early draft.

Matt: so I play in the cup for Gordy. He's roped in every year as my co-GM. He's Matt Sundin to, I really don't want to be John Chaker, but I want to be Brad Treleving even less. So Gordy provides me advice. draft daytime, but they run a draft because the league is global. it's they claim to be the longest standing and biggest fantasy league competition in the world. There are not many Aussies that participate, but there are about nine tiers. I've managed to fight my way up to tier four. It is damn hard. I tell you, it is so, so hard. But

Nathan: Yeah, could cut full serious.

Matt: a cut full is serious so I need every ounce of help that I get from Gordie. I did download the Dobber preseason guide and I

Nathan: The God, yeah.

Matt: have got the athletics cheat sheet and I'll be using my best friend Claude to come up with a fail safe drafting strategy. No I won't, I'll probably keep that in the background and Gordie and I will out think Claude as we do every year. But yeah, I've got some reading and some prep to do in the next few days. So we might need a name change this season. Nathan, I've always been the Sydney nodding dogs. Sydney nodding dog was my original Twitter handle because I fell asleep at the SCG watching a test match and my mates never forgave me for it. So I think we might need to rename to the Sydney growling bears or something. this season Gordie and see if we can get pushing on up through to tier three.

Gordon Goodenough: my fantasy league team names are are usually really terrible puns. I did have the four goal Thorntons for a while with a picture of a chicken as my as my logo. if you know you know. so yeah, it's

Matt: We know.

Gordon Goodenough: yeah. yeah. So let's let's see what happens. We do have some content that we've that we have been preparing and and planning to release as well as a little wrap ups for the players for their twenty twenty six season. Keep an eye out for that. any final thoughts guys before we sign off?

Matt: You've been surprisingly decent company all year.

Nathan: I'm gonna be I'm gonna be looking for a a contract upgrade, gentlemen. Who do I direct my EOI to?

Matt: Me not interested. Work harder.

Nathan: Okay, good. Okay, great.

Matt: Work harder.

Nathan: Yeah, no, that's fair enough.

Gordon Goodenough: We've we've

Matt: Talk to me next season.

Gordon Goodenough: we've we've we've got a replacement in in Amiens who's willing to come over. Yep. So

Nathan: Amiel Amio.

Gordon Goodenough: yeah. Spot's never safe.

Nathan: I knew I knew you'd jump on that, you smart ass. That's the last time I prepped notes.

Gordon Goodenough: No, thanks for listening guys and go bears.

Matt: Go Bears! So proud.

Nathan: Go bears.