Week 6 Recap: Brisbane Lightning continue rise up standings

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Two surprise clubs have made jumps in the AIHL’s standings in week 6 after a pair of weekend sweeps while Melbourne have consolidated top spot in a thrilling 17-goal overtime blockbuster on Saturday evening.

A third-year Northstar recorded back-to-back hattricks, while a steely Ice veteran tallied one of his own in Melbourne’s seventh consecutive victory.

Here are the key moments from the six games of Week 6 of the AIHL season.



Hikosaka dominates as Perth earn four points in Melbourne trip

The Perth Thunder have come close to a shock weekend sweep against the two Melbourne clubs, ultimately taking home four of a potential six points.

Saturday’s clash with table-leaders Melbourne Ice was a barnburner for the ages, Melbourne taking the 9-8 win and extra point in overtime. Goaltending was seemingly optional from puck drop, the Ice netting the first two goals of the game on just four shots. Mackenzie Caruana and Jamie Bourke’s sensational form has continued, their early goals bringing their season totals to seven and eight respectively.

However, it was Perth who would start building an advantage late into the period, using Melbourne’s ill-discipline against them. Joey Hughes’ cross-check, paired with Bourke’s untimely slash, gave the Thunder a full two minutes on the 5-on-3, ultimately scoring two powerplay goals merely 36 seconds apart through Ben Breault and Robert Lachowicz. With the Ice’s defence on the ropes, Kolby Johnson found the back of the net a minute before the first intermission, extending Perth’s lead to 4-2 at the break.
The Ice rallied in the second, however, stunning the Thunder with their own storm of goals. After Yu Hikosaka put Perth up 6-3, the tension was palpable and energy inside the O’Brien Icehouse was deflating, but Joey Hughes lifted spirits with a nifty goal just two minutes later. The Ice would hit on their own powerplay too, crucially scoring off a hooking call on Perth’s James Woodman, followed by another man-advantage goal from a cross-checking penalty on Kolby Johnson.

That all set up a thrilling third period, where the Ice would again chase down a multi-goal deficit. Through Alex Roach and Koly Johnson’s second goal, the Thunder would go up 8-6 with seven minutes remaining, but a flurry of chances would see Kolton Shindle score under a minute later. Bourke, after already scoring once, would show off the ice in his veins with the game tying goal with four minutes to go, giving Ice fans 3v3 hockey for the third time already this season.

It didn’t take long for things to wrap up, however, Jamie Bourke notching a hattrick on the game winner on Melbourne’s second shot of the extra frame. In what was a frenetic contest start to finish; it made sense for it to end in such chaotic fashion.
The Thunder were left ruing, however, untimely defensive collapses and poor discipline without the puck ultimately costing them three separate multi-goal leads and the three points. That hollow feeling must have stirred some motivation in the locker room though, as not only did they come out with a bang against the Mustangs on Sunday, but defensively they were dialled in too.

Yu Hikosaka’s control in the offensive zone was on full display, the Japanese import setting up goals this time around instead of scoring them himself. His regular combination with linemates Lachowicz and Ville Tenosalmi gave the Thunder a 4-0 lead entering the final 20 minutes and they never looked back from there, ultimately dominating the Mustangs 8-0. Hikosaka’s one goal and four assists places him firmly in the league lead scoring leaders, Melbourne Ice import Kolton Shindle trailing with 23 points so far in 2025.

What should be applauded most, however, was Perth’s strong goaltending. Aleksi Toivonen’s 31-save shutout is not just his first for the season - it’s also the first time the Mustangs have been shut out since July 2, 2022. It’s been an insane run of form for Melbourne but Toivonen’s calmness at the net front, even when peppered by grade A chances from the likes of Scott Timmins and Ty Wishart, ensured the Mustangs’ ridiculous 77-game streak of at least one goal scored was broken.



Northstars surge toward top four after strong performances in Adelaide

Newcastle now sit just one point out of the top four after convincingly defeating the Adelaide Adrenaline twice this weekend, the six points catapulting them out of the basement of the standings and into playoff contention.
The Northstars trip to Adelaide began on Saturday with a complete performance in all areas of the ice, earning them an 11-3 win.

Adelaide initially kept things competitive and looked much stronger offensively than during their clash with Newcastle last week, scoring twice on their first ten shots. After going down 2-0 in the opening third, Joey MacDougall netted his first for the season right before the intermission before the Adrenaline’s star forward Josh Adkins scored his fourth of his 2025 campaign, squaring things at 2-2.

From there, however, it was all Newcastle. The Northstars piled on four straight goals, three coming in a dominant patch five-minute patch, entering the second intermission ahead 6-2. They would outshoot Adelaide 20-7 for the period too, providing a major momentum boost for a third period that provided much of the same. Evgeni Skachkov scored twice in seven minutes to bring up his hattrick and fifth and sixth points of the game, ending any hope of a miracle Adelaidean comeback.

The Adrenaline’s strong starts returned again on Sunday, but they are yet to find a way to put together a full 60 minutes, losing 7-3. Adelaide have trailed entering the first intermission just twice this season and they didn’t add to it in this one, leading the game twice during the first period before Newcastle responded with goals of their own. A second period barrage from the Northstars would seal this game, however, Liam Ryan leading the way with two of his four assists occurring in this third, all primary.

In the end, allowing Newcastle to take 47 shots on goal in return for 29 of their own wasn’t going to cut it for Adelaide, still in search for their first win of 2025.

The Northstars record of 3-5-2-0 places them in good stead going forward, but to truly establish themselves as a post-season fancy, two hard fought wins over Canberra over the upcoming fortnight will be a must. The Brave currently reside in 6^th with a record of 2-5-2-0, so wins for either side will likely be turning points as they cross the one-third mark of the season.



Lightning too good at home for Central Coast, sweep weekend series

Brisbane have launched themselves into third place in the standings after a weekend sweep over Central Coast, but the Rhinos made them work for it, each game only secured in the final stages of the third period.

Central Coast took an early 3-2 lead during Saturday’s battle in Brisbane, Dmitri Kuleshov scoring again on the powerplay, his third goal on the man advantage this season. Only Brisbane’s Sacha Rapchuk and Melbourne’s Kolton Shindle have scored more on the powerplay (4 PP goals each). Kuleshov has heightened the threat of Central Coast’s powerplay unit significantly, the Rhinos scoring three times from four opportunities in this match with Kuleshov notching points on two of those powerplays.

However, the Lightning’s volume of high-quality chances proved to be too much for Rhinos’ goaltender Anand Oberoi to handle, especially as the Rhinos constant penalties continued to cull any momentum they had been building. Brisbane scored three times on 13 shots in the third period, twice being on the powerplay, extending their lead to a much as 7-3. While Central Coast fought back late, the Lightning’s stoic defence held the Rhinos to just six final period shots on goal, ensuring they held on for a 7-5 win.
That defence was not as prominent on Sunday for either side, both conceding a goal in the first minute of the game. Brisbane would allow 42 shots on goal for the match, Central Coast also conceding 38.

However, goaltending continues to be a bright spot in Queensland, with Matus Trnka saving 40 shots for an incredible 0.952 save percentage in his sixth start of the season. This proved vital in a tense second period, Central Coast unwinding 23 shots at Trnka over those 20 minutes, but he held firm and ensured Tanner Hopps’ goal seven minutes into the final frame was the game winning effort.

Hopps now has 13 points through six games this season, averaging over two points per game, ranking only behind Jules Sturny in scoring production for Brisbane. The AIHL rookie and Canadian import is having a stellar season and undoubtedly will play a role in Brisbane’s championship aspirations come late August.

Brisbane will now enjoy a week off while the Rhinos will be eager to earn another surprise victory against Melbourne next week, heading south to take on the Ice and Mustangs at O’Brien Icehouse.