An improved performance by the Adelaide Adrenaline, proudly presented by Hards Transport, was not enough as Canberra Brave earned maximum points on the road with a 4-1 win.

For two periods it was an incredibly close game which saw the Adrenaline take the lead in the second through Darren Corstens, before Canberra quickly tied up the game and found the lead in the third.

Despite the loss, Head Coach Sami Mantere felt there was more positives to take from the game.

“I think we played better today; a lot more defensively responsible game. We played defence first and got our chances again but just couldn’t capitalise,” Mantere said.

Aleksi Toivonen and Matt Murphy put on a great battle of goalies with Toivonen denying Casey Babineau and Tyson Boyd early on, while Murphy shut down Matthew Harvey in a breakaway assault.

Showing off his pace, Cam Critchlow was everywhere, providing plenty of challenges for the Brave defence; likewise Stephen Blunden was on the hunt for more goals after his six on Saturday.

However, it was an improved defensive performance from the home side and with the help of the crossbar they prevented Blunden and co. from scoring.

Critchlow forced Toivonen into a late save with a surging left-wing attack, but it would end scoreless in the opening frame.

After going behind in their 10-5 defeat, it was crucial for Adelaide to gain the upper hand and Joey Rezek did just that in a great start to the second.

With the Brave unable to clear the puck in front of their goal, Rezek showed his composure by beating three opponents and passing to Darren Corstens amongst traffic. He then had the easiest of goals with a quick flick into the back of the net from close range.

Not used to being behind, the Brave soon levelled the score despite the great wall of Murphy stopping challenge after challenge.

Utilising all his hockey smarts, Blunden equalised with nine minutes left in the second, burying the puck into the top corner from right in front of goal when he found space in a cramped zone.

When James Byers took out Critchlow’s legs in a defensive tackle the Adrenaline nearly had the lead but the whistle beat Rezek when he snuck the puck through the legs of Toivonen.

Meanwhile, Greg Oddy tormented Canberra’s defence with two quick attacks, pouncing on loose pucks and gaps in their lines, before Adelaide held firm against a late powerplay assault led by Dominic Jalbert.

A ferocious start to the third period saw Canberra take the lead as Blunden and Jalbert teamed up on a breakaway, the latter scoring against Murphy who could do nothing as the talented duo charged down the ice.

The early goal still left Adelaide with plenty of time to come back but the Brave asserted their dominance as the Adrenaline seemed to tire sooner than their opposition.

“I think whether it’s fitness or discipline we’ve struggled in third periods over the last few months,” Mantere explained.

“We gotta get our defence and offence working in the same game. When we play good defence we struggle to score and then when we score we struggle to play good defence.”

Despite late challenges there was no breakthrough, even against a sprawling Toivonen at one point, and ultimately a late Geordie Wudrick double sealed the game.

He scored from tight space in the dying seconds of a powerplay after a patient Canberra passed the puck around in search of the perfect opening, while he made it 4-1 into an empty net in the final minute.

As the season heads into its closing stages, Mantere is not focused on standings with the Adrenaline rooted to the bottom of the ladder.

“It’s just like yesterday; we lost another game,” he said.

“There’s no point looking at the standings right now, we gotta get winning."