In the four years of the AJIHL competition the Sydney Sabres have won two titles defeating the first placed Melbourne Glaciers in a tight 6-4 final over the weekend. Ellesse Carini had a four point haul (2 goals, 2 assists) including the game winner. The high scoring affair started early with a 1-1 scoreline five minutes in Mohak Isaar and Darcy Flanagan getting their teams on the board. But the Glaciers pushed ahead 3-1 lead courtesy of Corey Stringer and Gavin Birchler. The MVP Ellesse Carini clawing his team back into the game 3-2 with a nifty shift to the middle and deke on Jack Hayes just before the end of the first.

The Sydney Sabres continued to pepper the net with shots as Sabres veteran Saxon Air finally broke through tying up the game 3-3 in the second period. The Glaciers regrouped after the second period with Tim Vanderwolf netting the go ahead goal set up by leading points scorer Caleb Butler. Daniel Patacky responded two minutes later after tearing down the wing and popping it short side to make it level again 4-4 at the 11 minute mark.

The teams exchanged scoring chances with the no success as Hayes and Mendoza-Kehlett continued to shut the door. Carini managed to score the game winner with 5 minutes remaining before Cian O’Reily finished off the game with an insurance marker with a minute to go. The Sabres held on 6-4 to become the 2016 AJIHL Champions.

The AJIHL finals are finally here this week and will be hosted for the first time in Penrith NSW. Make sure you and check out these teams in action after what has been a thrilling State Semi Finals series and season. Entry is free so don’t miss out!!!

Semi Final 1
Saturday 27th February, Melbourne Glaciers (1) vs Sydney Sabres (2), 5pm, Penrith Ice Palace

Semi Final 2
Saturday 27th February, Perth Sharks (3) vs Brisbane Blitz (Wild Card), 7:15pm, Penrith Ice Palace

Qualifying Final
Sunday 28th February, Semi Final 1 Loser vs Semi Final 2 Winner, 8:00AM (Morning), Penrith Ice Palace

Grand Final
Sunday 28th February, Winner of Semi Final 1 vs Winner of Qualifying Final, 5PM, Penrith Ice Palace

This Article proudly brought to you by: Skaters Network.

The Pelicans managed to break their slump with a 5-2 win over the Sharks on Friday night. The Pelicans took a 2-0 lead off the sticks of Joshua Santana and Jonathon Spalding. Kevin Matheiu and Bruno Stolze tied the game up in the second period. Both teams were hungry for a win after the previous weeks losses, but it would be the Pelicans who broke free thanks to the “Jordans”. Jordan Williams pushed the Pelicans ahead with back to back goals to complete a scoring frenzy of a second period. Jordan Grover then netted the final marker in the third to give the Pelicans the big W and create a bit more distance between them and the Sharks in the standings.

The Glaciers streak has ended and what a run it has been. The Sabres defeated the Glaciers Saturday night in Sydney 6-5 in a shootout which was forced by the heroics of Glaciers Corey Stringer with less than 30 seconds remaining. Caleb Butler was up to his usual tricks scoring two goals but his efforts were trumped by Ellesse Carini’s hat-trick after two periods of play and a 4-3 lead to the Sabres. Defenceman Daniel Pataky and Darcy Flanigan both contributing from the blue line for their respective teams. With his team down by one Corey Stringer kept the streak alive a little longer with a clutch goal to force the shootout. Manwarring and Pataky both scored in the shootout to continue their winning streak and put a stop to the Glaciers.

The Wolf Pack and Whalers went head to head as well with Jonathon Hughes earning a shutout in a 6-0 win. The scoring was shared amongst the Wolfpack with five individual scorers Knight, Kubara (2 goals), Zvonicek, Pullen and Nadin.

On Sunday the Sabres defeated the Whalers 4-0. Charlie Yole got his team off to a great start. Fraser Ohlson faced 32 shots and managed to keep his team in the game, but Liam Manwarring (2G) and Ellesse Carini continued their scoring streaks to finish a solid 4-0 victory.

Secondary scoring and solid goaltending was the story of the Wolf Pack this weekend as they finished off their weekend with a 4-0 win over the first placed Melbourne Glaciers 5-1. The Wolf Pack scored four unaswered goals thanks to Charlie Fraser, Jackson Knight, Carter Lawrence and Nick Air.

Next week features the AJIHL intrastate Semi Finals where the winner’s will then take part in the Finals series Feb 27th/28th. Schedule below:

STATE SEMI-FINALS
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WA Semi-final 1
– 19th @ 7.45pm – Sharks – Pelicans – (Cockburn Ice Arena)
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NSW Semi-Final 1
– 20th @ 5.00pm – Sabres vs Wolf Pack – (Penrith Ice Palace)
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VIC Semi-Final 1
– 20th @ 3.45pm – Whalers vs Glaciers – (O’Brien Group Arena)
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NSW Semi-Final 2
– 21st @ 5.00pm – Wolf Pack vs Sabres – (Penrith Ice Palace)
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VIC Semi-Final 2
– 21st @ 3.45pm – Glaciers vs Whalers – (O’Brien Group Arena)
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WA Semi-final 2
– 21st @ 6.00pm – Pelicans vs Sharks – (Xtreme Ice Arena)
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CHAMPIONSHIP (Penrith Ice Palace) *times to be announced
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SEMI-FINAL 1
– 27th – AJIHL SF (Rank 2) vs AJIHL SF (Rank 1)
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SEMI FINAL 2
– 27th – Brisbane Blitz vs AJIHL SF (Rank 3)
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QUALIFYING FINAL
– 28th – Winner (Semi-Final 2) vs Loser (Semi-Final 1)
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GRAND FINAL
– 28th – Winner (Qualifying Final) vs Winner (Semi-Final 1)

This Article proudly brought to you by: Skaters Network.

On Saturday night (February 6th) the Sharks were close to getting out their recent slump losing in a shootout to the Wolf Pack 4-3. Tomek Sak played a big role in his teams efforts scoring two goals and one assist. But it would be Patrick Nadin and Bayley Kubara that would spoil the Sharks night. Both notching a goal each and burying their shootout goals to keep the Wolf Pack up the standings.

Both Liam Manwarring and the Sabres continued their winning streak with a 6-1 win over the Pelicans. Manwarring scoring a hat-trick to get his team fired up. The Sabres scored five unanswered goals. Most of the damage coming in the second period. David Mahood managed to spoil Dale Tilstead’s hopes of a shutout on the powerplay with two minutes remaining in the game.

The Pelicans couldn’t reverse their fortunes on Sunday as the Wolf Pack managed to also win 6-1. Bayley Kubara walking away with three points on the night. Jackson Knight got his team on the board with the first goal of the game before setting up Dylan Lavery two goals later. Stephen McCann decided to help his team score as the Pelicans netminder got a second assist on Jonathon Spaldings effort.

The Sharks and Sabres were next up and Sydney contniued their dominant performance. Cameron Smith scored the first two goals for the Sabres with Liam Manwarring assisting on both goals. Manwarring later added a third marker to launch himself into the top five in AJIHL scoring. Mark McCann faced 32 shots and stood on his head, but it wouldn’t be enough as his team managed only 11 shots in reply. Tyrone Mendoza-Kehlet finished the weekend with a shutout as the Sabres now find themselves in second place.