Bears and Beers: Hello and welcome. We are the unofficial podcast of the City Bears Australian Ice Hockey League team. Thank you for joining us. We are live from the lobby of the QT Hotel in Canberra on Sunday night. First of all, Matt, how how are you going tonight? I don't think we should have disclosed that we were live from the lobby. I was gonna say we've upgraded our Bears and Beers HQ. And this is the new studio. But yes, I'm very well. Enjoyed your company all day and just had a splendid meal across the road. So yeah, but very well indeed, thank you. and Nathan, how how are you going today as well? Yeah, very well, thank you, gents. we've had a a nice mix of hockey and some some touring on the road, some some good food and beverage and I'm yeah I'm pretty excited for this one in our in our new residence. Yeah, it should be good. So I mean, let's crack onto it. This is gonna be fairly loose, just in case you're listening. We are recording this Sunday night after dinner. we do have some beers as well. So we we each have that's yours. Yeah. Yeah, sorry, I just just tried to take Matt's beer. We're off to a flyer. Nathan, do you wanna run through the the non bears related results for the weekend? I'd love to. starting on the Saturday, we had Perth Thunder. Over the Central Coast Rhinos at Arena 7 2. the Lightning beat the adrenaline in a close one 5-4 in Boundle. Melbourne Mustangs 6 over the North Stars 5 in the Hunter. And earlier today we had the Thunder 3 1 winners over the Lightning in Boundle. And the Mustangs ran out to A victory over the Sydney Ice Dogs at Macquarie 8-3. Yeah, so I went Perth did well getting three wins from three games over the weekends. any any particular standout takeaways from the out-of-town results, Matt? Yeah, I think that as you said, the Perth results outstanding given three games in three nights all on the road. So hats off to Perth, that's that's quite an achievement, I think, to get max points from those games. and then in in the Bears game, let's move into it Saturday. We had really good game at at Macquarie Ice Rink. back and forth hockey real arm wrestle, tied after each period, goes into overtime. The Canberra Brave end up taking the seven to six overtime win. We get a point, which turns out to be a pretty important point. let's let's start dissecting it. what what did we see guys? What's What was trending? Yeah, look, I think you saw two good teams going to battle. Again, it was a a a packed house at Macquarie, really good crowd in. Again, good energy in the building. we we ran out to a a one-nothing lead. I thought in the first period both teams probably exchanged a relatively even spread of the play. both teams skating relatively well. I thought again our our forecheck to start that game was was was pretty strong. certainly some some opportunities exchanged. you know shot shot totals were pretty pretty consistent across the board and I thought you know heading heading into that first intermission it was probably as even as a as you could probably get coming out of first twenty minutes of play. Yeah, one all I think at the interval. shots were eleven twelve in favour of the brave. Goat got us on the board early with a power play goal, which was great to see. And I know to say you know, bright start. Ruben was on the top line with Lucas and and and Gustav. I think the the top line had a really, really positive first period. So yeah, pretty much in alignment w with you guys. Hard work, good start. pretty even Stephen. Braver a good side. Yeah, and and th they were the form team heading into the match. They had topped the competition for most points in June, had climbed from ninth up to up to fourth, no, up up to fifth rather, sorry, before the weekend, tied on points with us and and the Sydney Ice dogs. second period we we got out to a bit of a lead. We got a There was a five-minute major called in our favour. So we had PowerPlay scored two goals in the first minute. and then a little bit of a battle after that. Yeah look I'll I'll be honest guys, I on the Saturday I spent quite a bit of time with a lot of our partners in the stands, so there was probably limited limited viewing action from me, and I actually missed the the the play that involved decks. that led to the major penalty. so I'll let you guys sort of you know provide your opinion of of that incident. But you know for our guys to convert twice on on that that that major penalty, which was obviously a huge moment in the game, certainly swung the pendulum in our favour and I thought you know again what you know the rink was was pretty receptive to the guys with those two quick markers and you probably thought G you with maybe three minutes left, you know, could we sneak a third? It wasn't to be, but I think that was certainly a a defining moment in the game and certainly you know gave us a really strong level of momentum you know in in a period of the game that we really should have taken taken advantage of and we did. We did so. Yeah, and it was it was a big game for a a number of players. I thought Logan Brody he came off of you know winning the AIHL Player of the Week last weekend and and had a really strong start to the game as well for for the Bears and yeah the the Dex and Moselle like I I've only seen it, I I only saw it once on the on the small screen the replay when I was doing the commentary. at I d I i at first impressions were that it felt like it was j a generous call for us to get the five minute major, but you know, we've we've been on the other end of those calls as well. yeah, your your thoughts, Matt? Yeah, I think that's a pretty fair summary. I mean Dex is a a a very smart young man, let's say. And I think, you know, he used his experience. and we capitalised on it. Again, scoring two goals on a you know on a five minute power play is is a great result for us. Louis Alive got two assists in in the in those two power play goals. So you know, heads up stuff from Dexter we would expect nothing less. great opportunity for us to capitalise. That had us out in the lead and and then the Brave did what the Brave do. They just grind you down and claw their way back into the game. I think over the you know the course of the the game on Saturday the impressions that I was left of the Brave were, you know, just a very, very well organised team. They exit the zone well You know, they chip the puck out, they go get it back in the offensive zone. when they when they have puck possession it's their controlled entries are very strong. so they're a team with a plan and they execute execute that plan really well. I was super impressed with their zone entries all weekend. And yeah, look, I mean you know, w we gave ourselves a little bit of breathing space, but then the Brave do what they do. They just they just fight their way back into games. Yeah, I thought that top line. Former bear Jake Ratcliffe was really, really effective against us. You know, three points in in in that game and Peter Bates, his skating was really impressive to me as well. His his ability to quickly change direction and make defenders commit and and then completely shift gears, was was pretty special. Casey Kabara, of course, you know doing Casey Kabara things, but we we went into the third period, went down twice, five five four and and then six five. And Gustav Remlogensen, yeah he scored twice to tie things up. in it's he's he's he's a young player that we've commented on a lot on on this podcast but it felt like he's he's come up in big moments a lot this season. Yeah, I think Goose just really continuing, you know, in the same vein that, you know, we've been referring to over the last few weeks. You know, he's seeing a lot of minutes, he's seeing big opportunities, you know, L1 PP one, or I'm sorry, PP two, you know, making the most of those opportunities. You know, he's strong on his skates, strong stick, he's a heads up kind of guy. you know, certainly fantastic to see him taking his opportunities. and I I I did feel for periods of this game, quite often it was probably, you know, our top group versus their top group. you know, Kabara Bates, Ratcliffe. You know, Raddy's a guy that we all know so well. We know, you know, what areas of the ice he likes to occupy, but he's he he's so good. he's so efficient at doing what he does and you know he he obviously did some damage there, but certainly back to Goose. you know he's he's been a continual threat for us this season and he was absolutely huge in this game. and probably one of our driving forces I think you know c on on a consistent basis throughout the game. Yeah, I mean obviously we missed Nick enormously and you know for Ruben to step up on on to the wing in Nick's place. you know, Ruben again two great games this weekend. We'll talk more about his game today shortly, but he picked up an assist on on the game tying goal. but I thought the two boys, you know, a goose is stick handling for for the for the fifth goal was was awesome and then great shot. so the future's bright. You know, I I think when we you know when we let the events of this weekend settle in and obviously we look back at the scorecard, you know, we've got to just remember that these kids are growing with every single game and you know Ruben and Goose are just standing up and and and really being counted. So two great goals from Gustavin you know clutch goal, the equalizer, one, you know one minute twenty nine before the the buzzer and the boys show showed an enormous amount of character to to claw back. You know, they put the Brave under a lot of pressure in those in those closing stages and and almost wheeled the puck home, which is great to see. Yeah and then overtime, I think the Brave you saw the difference in experience between the two teams, and the Brave played that overtime really well. They kept possession of the puck well. They weren't afraid to exit the offensive zone after after entering, just in order to be able to retain possession and wait for a a a really good good chance. And you know, we we end up we turn the puck over on a one on three in the offensive zone, they come back and Justin Malin does really, really well to get on on to the end of a good pass and and deflect a pass Kimmer. Kimmer really didn't have a chance on on on that one right in front. like any overtime period, you know, you've got to be pretty clinical with the chances that are presented to you. I think before the Brave scored their eventual game winner. I do recall there was a play where Herms tried to find, you Louis and tight, on a skilled move. The pass didn't quite make it through and then all of a sudden, you know, Brave find the zone at the other end and and end up capitalizing, you know, not too long after. it's the nature of O Ts, very unfortunate, obviously on the wrong side of the ledger, but I thought, you know, both teams had their opportunities there and ultimately the Brave were were able to capitalise on this. And it turned out to be an important point. It put us you know, a a point over the ice dogs, broke that tiebreaker. and then we we come into Sunday, you know, one of only three teams in r in the month of since the the start of June that have taken points off the Brave, and head into the AIS arena. for the reverse fixture. but just a little bit of housekeeping. any I I don't want to move on too quickly. Any final thoughts on that game? I thought one takeaway was that Louis Olive had a new season high in in points with three, so three assists. I thought that yeah Gustav Remler Jensen kept his point streak rolling. Lucas Herman hit one hundred career AIHL points. in in that game as well. And Ruben yeah, Ruben Nallos was was noticeable. give Kevin Sadovsky a shout out. He had two points to assists as well in the game. So but yeah big ups to to Lucas for reaching his milestone. you know I think Gordy you mentioned to us some of the stats around you know the brave and and you know how teams have had to go through them to win the the the the cup over the last I don't know seven eight years. we we just saw a very well organised battle hard and polished team just edges out at home and I think you know the takeaways from that game for me were you know our boys you know our boys were there or thereabouts in that game at at at Macquarie, slightly bigger a ice surface we certainly didn't disgrace ourselves, but yeah, I think just the experience and the application and the and the organization of the Brave got them home, particularly in that overtime period where you could see that experience was was just there to keep possession of the puck, you know, be patient, move us around and and you know, create genuine scoring chances. Yeah, yeah, some of those stats for the the Brave since twenty fifteen. Yeah, every they've either won the Goodall Cup or the the eventual winner has had to defeat the Canberra B Brave in finals. And since twenty fifteen, the Bears have only won one season series against the the Brave and that was in twenty twenty three. there would be few arguments for the fact that they've probably been the best team in the competition since twenty fourteen, consistently. Made finals every one of those seasons, won three go good all cups more than anyone else. They're they're a a very, very difficult team. Yeah, as much as it pains, I'd you know, it's hard to hard to disagree with that. and look back to those milestones, obviously, you know, all of them are in you know important and impressive, but a particular shout out to Lucas Herman. Herms is a massive part of who we are and and and and what we deliver on the ice and you know, he's wearing a C for a reason. You know, he's big part of the ID of of our club and our team. so you know an absolutely fantastic, you know, milestone and achievement for him and hopefully plenty more to come in in Bears Colours, that's for sure. and then we we move on to the Sunday and and Sunday heading to AIS. I know we'd spoken to Dexton Moselle last weekend and you mentioned you know it's it's a something that the players hadn't experienced yet playing in that environment. and it ended up being a really good start to the game for for the Bears. scored the first goal of the game for the eighth game in a row. and that was great work in the neutral zone by Gustav Raml Jansen and Ruben Nalos and they combined on the goal. Ruben Nalos scored. no teddy bears were tossed on on the ice at the time. Sorry, did Nathan toss any teddy bears at all today? Let's move on. One one got misplaced in the luggage at our new studio. yeah. So yes, and then but the brave responded quickly and we ended up coming out of the period down by one. big shout out to the hospitality of the Canber Brave, Stephen Campbell and really made us feel welcome and even if we weren't cheering for the brave, we felt very safe and respected and and it was a lovely it was the game day experience. Talk us through it, Nathan, like the the pre game elements. Yeah, look I think the the AIS is a beautiful venue. certainly look and feel, you from the minute you walk into the rink, you know, it feels like a very genuine, legitimate experience. and certainly opportunity for for Steve to take us through the rink and the venue and and the different vantage points in the rink. I I don't think there's too many bad seats in the house. and certainly the you know the way that we were you know attended to and and made feel like we're a priority w was certainly impressive. you know I must say that the the the production, the the the the feel of the game, you know, once you're down rinkside and and and in a seat is is certainly impressive and and something that you could probably very fairly compare to that of you know an experience in North America or you or or throughout Europe perhaps. so they're they're certainly doing a great job. you know not that we want to put you know Canberra on too much of a pedestal, but you certainly need to give credit where it's due. so certainly a b a big shout out and a big thanks to Steve and his staff for accommodating us to such a high standard today and it was just a shame that we didn't walk out there with our with our chests out. Not that my chest is all that big, but you get the point. No, I I second that. Stephen Legend, thank you for looking after us. The whole experience, just walking in through the front door, you know, seeing the pictures of the players in the lobby, you know, staff directing people to their seats. Yeah, very, very polished game day experience. So extremely enjoyable. But yeah, we were the first people to get up in cheer, which was great. I got a bit fed up with that goal song after after a little while today. But painful. They did score a few and w we we unfortunately got to yeah, to to be on the receiving end of a little bit of it. But yeah, Ruben got us on the board first. Hayden made a couple of good saves I think before our first goal w goal was scored today. But that yeah, the the top line were buzzing again early early doors. Yeah, and we ended up special teams, Canberra have really climbed up the the standings with their with their power play percentage and you know they managed to score shorthanded against us as as well. So a power play goal, shorthanded goal to close out the first period. Then we come in, Ruben Nalos beautiful little backhand shot past Alexandra Tetro, which gave him his first career multi-goal game of in the AIHL. but then the Brave close out the period three straight unanswered goals. we go to the third and Noah Moncrief gets a really good shot off through a screen or the defenseman was kind of obscuring the puck. And I thought I thought Noah, the way he's played the last couple of weekends, you know, he got a couple of really good assists against the Lightning. I thought he's deserved a goal for his play, so that was that was nice to see. so he gets his second goal of the season. but Matt, one of the themes that that you've taken note of is w when we score goals, There's there seems to be a a just a a little bit of a trend sometimes. Yeah, I just noticed over the last couple of games, you know, we've scored a couple of goals, two or three goals where we've then conceded very quickly afterwards within a minute or a you know, ninety seconds of that goal going in. you know, and that that swing feels big, that gain momentum swing, you know, feels big What that must feel like to the boys on the bench, you know, I I I can't imagine. But yeah, look, things could have been very different today. Hugo, Arps got a lot of ice time. He hit the post early, midway through the second, just before Rubin scored the equaliser. If if Hugo had scored and and then Rubin's goal would have gone in, that would have put us three two up. Could have been slightly different. But yeah, Rubin's goal was super pretty. you know, popped the water bottle off the top of Tet's net. I was you know, I was stood up in the hospitality section, which probably wasn't the done thing to do, but Stephen had been waving his arms around in our face in the first period, so hey ho, what's good for the goose is good for the gander, right? That's one of your better ones, Matt. Just give me a moment, I quite enjoyed that. Some look I I think and certainly a shout out to Ruben that that second goal in particular, but both goals were finished very well, but the second goal was was pretty. roofed it. and again, you know, you you you're a tired game at that point. like many, many periods of the game on Saturday, you're probably starting to feel you know, quite good about yourself. I think Canberra at this point, after our second went in, they really moved their game to another level in my opinion. They they they were rotating some really quality shifts. Their management of the puck from the back end out was very, very polished. they were very composed, they made very good decisions coming out of their own zone and that's that's what allowed their top guys to go to work. You know, if you look at this game, again very similar to to Saturday's effort, guys like your Kabara's, your y you know, your your Ratcliffes, your Bates, etcetera, it just allowed these guys to go to work and I I think they really did a good job of putting us on the back foot, throughout their rotation. They built momentum. and again, you know, our guys were pegged at at points there we were pegged in our own zone for thirty, forty, fifty seconds at a time. And it just seemed like that was happening, you know, too too often for for comfort. And ultimately that pressure does end up converting to opportunities and ultimately in this case unfortunately goals on the scoreboard against Yeah, it it felt like as well we Canberra did a really good job with their gap control and making it difficult for zone entries and you know we we turned the puck over a lot, you know, just around that meter inside the offensive blue line and it it allowed Canberra to to be able to counter and I thought their their lines looked really solid. today. I spoke about it yesterday in the commentary, but that third line, even though they didn't get on the score sheet necessarily, like Kaim Yeten and Scott Clammy, former Bear, Scott Clemmy and and Mitch Henning, they really dominated their shifts and they were heavy. And by the time they you know the the Puckets exited out of the offensive zone or out of the defensive zone from the Bears point of view, you've just got to change 'cause you're you're absolutely you know, exhausted and and that nullifies you know, opportunities to to be able to generate chances on the break. it was a really it looked like a a good old cup caliber team in in the Brave. Yeah, summary, I mean the the shots shot totals bears twenty-five. Eight first period, seven second, ten in the third. Canberra forty-eight, twenty in the first, fourteen in the second, fourteen in the third. Canberra converted on two out of five power plays, but I mentioned to you fellas in the in the rink their their power play was just so organized. They they looked to threat every time they they got in the zone on the power play. They set up, they were very patient. you know, Bates provides that sort of flash and dash. He sometimes picks the puck up with speed and he'll skate at defenders and commit them, which creates space for them to to get those controlled zone entries. But yeah, they look very, very dangerous and you know, two two out of five was probably somewhat of a slight injustice to them on the power play. You know, Hayden had loads of company in the crease. It seemed as though he was on his you know, on his knees looking for pucks right in front of him and You know, the boys were manfully trying to box the brave out. But as you say, they play this heavy game and they're always in the right, you know, the right space. They kind of play a man in front, you know, almost two bumpers on the power play. But Bates plays off the half wall and he just is such a classy player, skates beautifully. So the boys were really, really up against it today. And I I, you know, have to again just to tip my hat to the you know to the way that the Canberra set themselves up, they they set themselves up to succeed. They're very patient and and they're clinical when the chances come. And I I do wonder as well, and you know, I can't talk from a player's perspective of course, but the the unique scale of the rink in Canberra. I do wonder if, you know, that's perhaps a factor here in terms of their familiarity. You know, w one thing I noticed, you know, Canberra were always in lanes. Yeah. They had touches on pucks, you know, they had active sticks, they had bodies in front of pucks. It it's almost like there went there was never a lane open. And It it does also make me wonder with that with that condensed space, you know, they do have a lot of a lot of big bodies. And I think that was quite evident watching the game live. they they seem to smother our guys a a lot. and of course, you know, they've got a mature Ross, they've got an experienced Ross, they've got some you know, some some grown men and some big bodies, but it it just seemed very prominent throughout the game. And you know, you mentioned Matt, you know Bates and his ability off the half wall. He was setting up Jake Ratcliffe there in periods. you know, Jake Ratcliffe saw, you know, a bunch of high quality slot chances as well. And I I I just felt like we for whatever reason we found it difficult to sort of nullify that connection that those two players had and it was a it was a constant threat for us. so these are just some of the trends that I sort of saw throughout the game, particularly probably in the second or third period. You know, one thing, just picking up on the way that Canberra set themselves up when not in possession, it looked to me like a two two one. You know, Noah got us a goal back, we got to three five and then quickly conceded three six. But what that meant for us is we couldn't get through the neutral zone, so so many stretch passes, trying to use the speed of the young guys. But again those weren't really hitting we were either icing the puck or Canberra were, you know, then setting up again and and and moving you know, moving the pup back back up ice. So obviously that sort of defensive structure is equally as impressive as their offensive structure. And they use that very effectively to make teams play a, you know, a style that isn't going to be overly effective against their big bodies and against their their tight structure in that smaller sort of ice surface. But yeah, just just all almost a sort of home Ice master class, wasn't it at times today? Yeah, I I I feel like they put on perhaps the most polished and complete performance that I've seen out of a an opposition team this year. And again I you know, I don't want to use, you know, a our forum as a as an opportunity to, you know, parade another team around. But I I also think you need to acknowledge, you know, a good performance when you know, w when you see one and and I think, you know, the the Brave did put put a pretty complete you know, mature performance out there today, which made it really tough for our guys. And you mentioned the neutral zone, Matt. How many times throughout the game did we did we mention when we were we were sitting there that w we just didn't seem to, you know, command, you know, any real you know, assertiveness throughout the neutral zone at any point in the game, which makes it really difficult. Yeah, and the the the brave, I mean, th they were excellent They've you know, keep in mind they've made a lot of other very good teams look ordinary at points at AIS and I have no doubt will will do so during the season. I you know, you I think about the players that we were missing, as well, you know, mi missing Nick Nick Seites, obviously on on that top line, missing Tommy Lander, you know, going back. you can do revise history all you like, but you can't deny that Nick Seitz, who's who's a guy who scored what, fourteen goals for us, wouldn't have made a difference in in that game. And even if it means moving Nalos back down to the third line where he looked so effective against the Brisbane Lightning last last weekend, just providing a bit of better balance to the to the to the group. Yeah. And and Nick does For us, the very things that Bates does for Canberra, he he drives at defenders, he uses speed, he makes them commit, creates space for, you know, for Herms and and and Gustav. So yeah, we've we've I think we very much missed his dynamism today. And I did I I did say during the game it would have been, you know, really, really cool to see those two guys sort of, you know, head to head, you know, using their creativity to, you know, to drive play for for the respective sides. Nathan, a little bit of an update on Logan Brody. Yeah, so Logan Logan obviously took a hit. I believe it was was it the start of the second period? he he is okay, but you never want to see one of your guys go down, particularly in that fashion. He was obviously a little bit shaken up after the hit and again, you know, very thankful for our staff and you know, the people that were behind the bench to to attend to him, but he he is okay. For those listening, he is okay. Yeah, he you know, he's been such a good player this season, so yeah. Thoughts with him and his family and hopefully he recovers well, first and foremost. Hugo Arps moved up to that second line and he he looked he looked pretty pretty effective too. Yeah, I I mean I think the you know the bright spots of the weekend again in the play of the the young kids Hugo looked looked great today. he's got a heck of a shot on him. That quick release. I saw him, you know, throwing his body around a little bit in the O zone trying to you know, trying to stand up for himself, which is always good to see, you know, and Gustav and Ruben do exact do exactly the same. So I think, you know, we've got to look at the positives here. The player, the kids is is just just really encouraging. and you know, on on any other given day, you know, Hugo's shop would have gone in and we we might have been looking at a different scenario at the start of the second. but it is what it is, right? Yeah, so we we move on now and let's look ahead to next next weekend, unless there's any any final thoughts that you guys want to share about about the game. No look I th I think apart from the fact that I'd love to see, a fit squad go up against the Brave. Yeah. you know, you mentioned Nick before but obviously, you know, guys like Tommy Lander as well. it would have been nice to see, you know, what we could do. Against those guys with some more fit bodies, but I'm sure we'll get that opportunity later in the season. And you know, further to what you said, Matt, you know, th the the the kids and I hate sort of throwing that that label around, but let's just use it for for the purpose of this conversation. the kids were immense again this weekend. huge compete level, great production, you know, very prominent, you know, shift shift on shift. And You know, that that that's certainly very promising for, you know, the rest of the season and and beyond as well. we head up to Newcastle on Saturday. Newcastle have they've dropped down the standings now with with Perth in first place now, Newcastle in second, the Brave third, Mustangs fourth, we're in fifth, Ice Dogs sixth, and then the Melbourne Ice just two points in behind the Ice Dogs in seventh. so we've got a big weekend coming up. Newcastle, we mentioned their form has dropped off a little bit since they last played us. they've in the last seven games they've gone three wins, four losses. how how are you feeling about this this Saturday's game? Nathan, how how do you think we're positioned? Well, I think we've actually put in two good performances against the North Stars this season. We haven't unfortunately had anything to show from that. But I feel like again, we've probably proven that we can skate with those guys. we just need to convert it into you know into results. North Stars, we have a great rivalry with those guys. Our games are always, you know, well fought, always a good crowd. there's a lot of emotion in these games. so hopefully, you know, this time around, you know, we can we can put our best foot forward and and hopefully bring some points, some points back home heading into the game on Sunday. Yep. And thoughts on the game on Sunday we'll we'll be at home hosting the the Central Coast Rhinos, Matt? Yeah, it feels like a big game again. you know, two episodes ago we were you know, celebrating our track record since we started the pod and taking an enormous amount of claim for our win streak. But it feels I think Nathan, you mentioned last week that six point games. I think you know, I think that just moves on to next week. We we need to rebound, regroup, you know, draw on the positives of this weekend and you know, see if we can capitalise on Newcastle slightly faltering. we you know, we we know what the Rhinos can do. Bouchard just runs the show for them. You know, they've they've got some very fast and skilled skilled players up front. But you know, we've got to double down and and and you know, bring that application and work ethic and and you know, really grab the points at Macquarie. I think it's hugely important that we we get maximum points from from that game and and try and get as much of as we can out of the game against Newcastle on Saturday. I also think for us, you know, we we've sat here the last few weeks saying, you know, we've we've got some good performances and we have accumulated some points, but we are getting to a point now where you need to find a way to continually accumulate points on a consistent basis, particularly in the league this year where we've got, you know, perhaps the most competitive and close fought, you know, group of teams and you know, a a battle towards the finals that perhaps we've ever seen, we need to find a way to navigate a path where we are accumulating points against, you know, good opposition. I think you might have mentioned last week that we don't have any remaining games against teams that are well at least at that point any more than three points out of a playoff position. So, you know, the schedule may not necessarily be in our favour, but at the moment we've just gotta find a way, we've gotta find, you know, a path to, you know, keep chipping away each week, coming out of weekends with points in the bank and hope that, you know, we can find a way to get, you know, our full group together as soon as possible, heading into the back end of the season and and putting ourselves in a position to to to come away with what we what we aim to to achieve for the season. Yeah, 'cause you can look at at it the the schedule a couple of ways, right? Like you can look at it and and think, man, this is this is really hard but you know, you look at it and this is an opportunity. You're you're going head to head against teams that are either above you, just chasing you or at your level. And by the end of it, you know, you're gonna be battle hardened, hopefully, heading into Melbourne for finals and confident with having had that kind of track record and behind you that that you can take on and and beat anybody. Yeah, as a young man growing up in in the UK, Here we go. Now no, now now. those dominant Liverpool FC teams of the seventies and eighties, they they didn't play well every week, but they found a way to win. You know, to so to reinforce your point, Nathan, you know, we it's it's implausible for us to play, you know, gold star hockey every every week. if we can grind results out to a degree where we're picking up points here and there, you know, that that's a recipe for success and something that the boys will learn from. it provides a foundation for us to build on in in future seasons. we're we're really, really entering an important phase of the season now. Would would you say entering as well like an important stage for some of these players' growth? We've got a lot of rookies on the team, Nathan. if you look back years past, any team that has has tasted success through the back end of a regular season into finals, you need all of your plates spinning. You you need your import group active, available and producing and you need that local support act to play their roles and provide, you know, secondary scoring playing their roles, in in an instance where we've got our full roster available. I think we've got a configuration where we've got a really nice balanced lineup where you've got, you know, a a nice spread of the import, contribution and, you know, certainly a b a large local contingent, particularly at forward. We've got, you know, a number of young guys who have stepped up to the plate and taken opportunities and proved their capability in this league and proven their ability to you know, produce and produce at a good clip, and move up and down the lineup and play different roles. So you y you just need all of that to come together. You need people complimenting each other, everyone sort of you know, playing their respective role in the puzzle and hope that you get a bit of luck and some puck bounces along the way. you know, I I feel very confident in our in our collective group. It's just a matter of you know, having everyone you know, click at the at the same time and, you know, I think we should be very optimistic about what the the the last third of the the regular season and beyond can look like. Yeah, so we we we did interview last weekend. We interviewed head coach Ryan Ainsley, we Dexter Mosell and Noel Moncrief and they all s spoke about the young players who are part of the team and the bright future of the Sydney Bears as well, as well as I know Dexter Mosell, his his ambitions for the season. So we'll we'll include them in in the episode of the pod at at the conclusion. Any final thoughts, gents? Well, I think we've had a spectacular weekend. I I think results haven't gone our way. but you know, Saturday night at at Macquarie was, you know, was was awesome again. The atmosphere as we you know, as we scored that that equalising goal in the in the last minute and a half was was outstanding. today didn't go so well, but we've had some fun, good good trip down. Nathan, I know I've taken the Mickey out of you a lot. we had a great time at the rink. lovely meal. we've also met some amazing people over the course of the weekend. So everyone who's come up to us and said hi and introduced themselves and mentioned that they listen to us, we really, really appreciate that. I've just got one final request. Dex, please grow your tash back. Think I think we need your superpowers and the superpowers might sit in that mustache of yours, mate. Yeah, look, I certainly second that. so a bit of a directive there to to Dex, mate. Let's get this thing done. Saturday, look, a huge thanks to the fans. it was alive, great energy. When when Gus, even the score line, I must admit, I thought the momentum and the That the the crowd's involvement in the game was hopefully going to be enough for us. Unfortunately it wasn't, but just a huge shout out and a big thanks to the fans who are really starting to bring it. I think over the last two, maybe three weeks, the building has been consistently loud. you know, from my perspective, I'm I've been standing in the same vantage spot and I've noticed a huge sort of uptick in you know the noise and the involvement from the crowd. And today it was really nice to see the the volume of travelling fans. even walking out of the arena. there were two separate pockets of of our fans, which was fantastic to see. Some f some familiar faces as well. Kat, Sheepy, great to see you. Andrew and Co. so keep supporting the boys in numbers and we've got a lot to look forward to for for for the for the next few weeks Great, thank you. Well thanks very much for Listening, there's so many people have have come up and said you know that they've just listened to the pod either before the game or, you know, in the car and that's that's pretty cool. And I must say you look really good in that sweatshirt finally. It's a medium. For the first time ever you called me fat two weeks ago. It fits you down to a T. Thank you. Well, thank you very much for listening. we will put those interviews in at the conclusion. in the meantime, feel free, give us a follow on socials. you would keep keep up to date with all random stats that I put together and random bears news as well. And we'll see you next week. And thank you for putting up with us this week. This is very unstructured, very rogue. So thanks for bearing with us. If you're still listening, thank you.