Brisbane Lightning News: May 15-19, Week 5

The Brisbane Lightning have spent the past few days training hard for a repeat bout with the Perth Thunder, which will be held on Saturday May 20th at 5:00pm at IceWorld Boondall. This game is coming after a weekend of travel to Melbourne for clashes with the Melbourne Mustangs and Melbourne Ice that saw the Lightning split the weekend series with the perennially strong teams from down south.

Last Saturday saw the Lightning take on the highly touted Mustangs and their contingent of imports who have played in some of the most prestigious leagues around the world including the National Hockey League - the world’s top league. The Lightning held their own for 2 periods and hung with the Mustangs, using their speed and intensity to keep pace. Goals by Anthony Barnes, Alexis Girard and Sacha Rapchuk were enough to allow the Lightning to enter the 3rd period trailing 4-3. However, the firepower of the Mustangs was able to break free for a short time in the 3rd period leading to 3 goals in 5 minutes to put the game to bed. Steve Harris was a standout in goal for the Lightning, and despite the score line, facing 60 shots with often spectacular saves was truly appreciated by teammates. It was a strong showing for the Lightning, but also showed the danger of switching off for any period of time against a strong team.

Sunday was a much improved outcome for the Lightning as they took the game to the Melbourne Ice and ended up with a 6-2 win. Goalie Nick Novysedlak stood tall and turned aside 32 of 34 shots in a solid performance to backstop the team. Jordan McTaggart added to his league leading point total with an opening goal and was ably supported by goals from Julian Fodor, Patrik Popovics and Max Roth (with 2 tallies) in the win! It was a well deserved victory for the Lightning who proved effort and team play can lead to top rewards. Centre Sacha Rapchuk was buoyed by the weekend results: “To come down to Melbourne and take away a split of the games has to be viewed as a success. This really helps us in the chase for the playoffs that has begun already!”

The upcoming weekend sees the Lightning playing only one game on Saturday against the Perth Thunder. Yes, Thunder meets Lightning this weekend and we expect sparks to fly! Perth has had some top results to start the season, so the expectation is they will be tough to handle on Saturday. “We have to be very wary of Perth”, said Head Coach Terry Kiliwnik. They have a number of top Australian players, especially on the defensive side, that allows them to move the puck quickly up ice in attack. We will need a full team game to come out with a good result.”

Catch the Lightning in person Saturday May 20th at IceWorld Boondall!

- Words by Ivan Rapchuk (Assistant Coach)
- Image by Matt Hartigan