Saturday 29th June VS Sydney Ice Dogs:The Adelaide Adrenaline were on the road in New South Wales for their fourth double header weekend in a row, beginning with a game against the Sydney Ice Dogs.
Both teams are chasing some much needed points in the push for the postseason and got things off to an impressive start. With a near equal amount of puck possession and shots on net it wasn't until halfway through the first period when Kale Costa put the Ice Dogs on the board after a quick faceoff win in the offensive zone. Another strong faceoff win and fast turnaround with the puck would give the Ice Dogs a 2-0 lead at the end of the first.
At just three minutes into the second period Kaden Elder was perfectly positioned to receive the puck off a faceoff win from Josh Adkins and fired it past Jakob Doornbos, bringing the score to 2-1. Daniel Chen and Dan Koudelka put their energy into pushing the puck up the ice and taking a number of strong shots against Doornbos. The Adrenaline also stepped up their defensive game with Rylan Toth making some incredible saves and keeping the Ice Dogs off the board in the second period.
Joey MacDougall nearly tied the game in the third with a shorthanded rush towards the goal but Doornbos was able to anticipate the play and dashed any hopes of the Adrenaline getting the tying goal. The Adrenaline were successful in killing off a 4-minute penalty early on but Braden Costa was able to steal the puck away from a faceoff in front of Toth and score unassisted, leading to a 3-1 win for the Ice Dogs.
The Adrenaline will travel north to Erina on Sunday for a match against the Central Coast Rhinos.
Sunday 30th June VS Central Coast Rhinos:The Adrenaline went on to face the Central Coast Rhinos on Sunday who had just come off a big win over the Brisbane Lightning.
Relentless pressure in front of Toth forced the Adrenaline to go on the defense but the Rhinos still managed to grab a 1-0 lead midway through the first period. The Adrenaline were able to enjoy a lot more zone time as the Rhinos took a number of consecutive penalties but unfortunately weren't able to capitalize on the 5-on-4 advantage.
Shai Rabinowitz found himself in the right place at the right time as he tipped in a goal that took an unlucky bounce behind Toth as he tried to clear the puck out of the zone. The Adrenaline responded with Adkins and Elder driving the puck across the length of the ice and setting up Shaun Dosanjh for a slapshot, bringing the score up 2-1.
Julian Friederich and Nate Benson worked together to create some more fantastic scoring opportunities but Anand Oberoi was on fire as he robbed them of every chance to get on the board.
Each Adrenaline line played with incredible discipline and purpose as the game went into the third period but the Rhinos were able to use the home ice to their advantage as they put two more shots past Toth in the third period and created a comfortable 4-1 lead. With less than a minute remaining in the third, Daniel Chen fired off a power play goal but the Rhinos would go on to claim the 4-2 win.
The Adrenaline are yet to win on the road this season and are looking forward to playing on home ice next weekend for another double header in front of their enthusiastic fans. Be sure to grab a ticket for Saturday's Canada Day themed game against the Newcastle Northstars that will feature exclusive themed jerseys, a major game day raffle, and more.
Puck drop is at 4:45pm.