Brisbane Lightning News: June 3-4, Week 8

June 3rd and 4th was a weekend in the nation’s capital for the Brisbane Lightning with a double header against the reigning Goodall Cup champions CBR Brave, a trip to the seat of government and some very un-Queensland-like weather.

The weekend was bookended by a couple of uneventful and on-time flights (thanks Qantas!) that had us in and out of Canberra without incident. The two games against the CBR Brave, however, could have gone a bit better…

Saturday’s match was a high scoring affair that resulted in 14 total goals being scored – a very uncharacteristic goals against for the defence of both teams and for the rock-solid goaltenders at either end in Steve Harris and Alex Tetrault. The game was a seesaw affair that had each team hold dominant form for only short stretches of time as momentum swung back and forth.

Three of the nine Brave goals came shorthanded, including the first two. The Lightning struggled on special teams without league top-three leading scorer Jordan McTaggart to bolster both the penalty kill and power play. In a penalty-marred affair it was tough for either team to get a solid game flow. Goals to Harley Anderson and Josh LaBrie – Anderson with his 13th of the season and LaBrie with his first AIHL goal - had the Lightning tied with the Brave early in the second period. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get that close again as the Brave showed their depth at all positions to pull away for the win.

“Scoring five goals against the Brave defensive structure without our top scorer showed a ton of offensive punch”, said goalie Steve Harris. “But we have to be able to keep the puck out at the other end as well to compete against some of the top teams like Canberra".

Sunday was a very different affair to start. For most of the first two periods it was a defensive battle that was clean and tough. Few penalties were called and fewer goals were scored. Alexis Girard with a goal to highlight his stellar play all weekend and Casey Kubara on a penalty shot going five-hole on Nick Novysedlak opened the scoring for both teams in a close fought first half of the game. However, two penalties by the Lightning late in the second period with the score tied 1-1 allowed the potent Brave powerplay to get to work. Two quick man advantage goals set the Brave on their way to a 7-2 win. A late goal by Josh LaBrie kept the score respectable but was not enough to rally the team to a comeback.

“It was a tough weekend. We were a bit depleted in numbers, but that’s no excuse for the results,” opined centre Harley Anderson after the game. “We had some great efforts by guys like Will (Clifford) and Wanny (Aaron Wanat), but we were pretty inconsistent as a whole. I think we were close, and I’m looking forward to meeting the Brave again on our home ice later in the season!"

The weekend saw 2 losses for the Brisbane Lightning. However their somewhat depleted lineup provided opportunities for a few players to step into key roles on the ice. This invaluable experience will certainly contribute to the growth of the team and organisation, and further contribute to the depth of this Lightning roster as we move forward in the 2023 season.

Words by Ivan Rapchuk
Image by David Tate