The Sydney Ice Dogs faced the CBR Brave at the Macquarie Ice Rink on Saturday night for the first of the two meetings this weekend.

Sydney started strong, but were unable to turn pressure into goals. The Brave took a lead five minutes into the game with a goal from Tyler Kubara that deflected past Damien Ketlo. Another goal with just over five minutes remaining gave Canberra a two goal advantage. Within 40 seconds the Dogs responded to the goal, when Strat Allen scored his third of the season, cutting the away teams lead in half. One last goal in the final minutes of the first gave Canberra a 3-1 lead heading into the second.

There were no changes to the scoreboard in the second period, despite a hard fought effort from the Dogs. With 6:48 left on the clock Rory Rawlyk had a close opportunity on a breakaway but was stopped at the last second by Alex Tetreault. Damien Ketlo made key saves to ensure that Canberra didn’t further it’s lead, stopping all 14 shots in the period and by the end of the second tempers were flaring.

The Battle continued in the third period when again Sydney began creating scoring chances. With 10:27 remaining Grant Toulmin came close to cutting The Brave’s lead in half with a breakaway opportunity. Toulmin passed the puck back to Rory Rawlyk whose shot narrowly missed, hitting the crossbar. Minutes later a sprawling save from Ketlo ensured that Canberra didn’t further its lead. With the minutes winding down, Sydney pulled their goalie giving them an extra player, however the Brave’s Dominic Jalbert scored on the empty net, securing Canberra’s win.

The Ice Dogs were without key players including Dave Upton and Billy Cliff, who will be out indefinitely with injuries. Stephen Johnston also missed the game and is expected to be out for two weeks.
The two team are back in action on the Sunday night, as the Dogs will travel to Canberra for the second of the series with the Brave.

 Sydney next plays at home on June 10^th when they take on the Bears.
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