Coaches Report - Away Games In Sydney 27-28 June

"Back in White"  (Uniform Colour on the Road!)

Well after a successful 8 game home stand (6 wins and 2 Shoot Out losses) we hit the road this weekend in Sydney for games against the Ice Dogs on Saturday and the Bears on Sunday for the first two of 8 road games. The opportunity in front of us will be huge undertaking as the team will be missing 6 regulars from the Line-up.

Missing due to family commitments: #19 - Trevor Walsh, Forward & #44 - Don Burke, Defence
Missing due to injury: #1 - Milan Novysedlak, Goal, #16 - Jack Connor, Forward & #17 - Matt Stubbert, Forward
Missing due to university commitments: #96 - Dave Upton "A", Forward

The team that will be required to dig deep and play smart, disciplined hockey this weekend, the team is as follows:

Goal:
#30 - Luke Fivash, Luke played well last Sunday and will get the start against the Ice Dogs
#1 Mark Paulsen, Mark played well being thrown into action when when Milan was injured last Saturday

Defence:
#5 - Ben "Grizzly" Spillane, Ben played well at his natural position last week and needs to use his smarts and size this weekend.
#8 - Cam Trew, Cam needs to show more aggression and determination to be successful this weekend.
#21 - Chris Martin "A", Marty needs to lead the D this weekend
#88 - Henrik Ivarsson, Henrik played an excellent, controlled aggressive style last weekend, that is when he is at his best.

Forwards:
#23 - Ben Maher, Red needs to use his size and speed to his advantage this weekend.
#10 - Jon Bale, Jonnie played well on Sunday after his one game suspension, Jonie needs to play sound two way hockey to be successful.
#22 - Marco Bertossa, Marco showed true grit last weekend, after being on the receiving end of a couple of big hits only to continue his regular shift and chip in with a couple of timely goals.
#27 - Ross Howell "C", Ross will stay up front after his successful shift to that position last weekend, his defensive instinct and offensive opportunism compliments the team.
#7 - Andre Selander, Andre broke out offensively last weekend and will need to continue this trend for the team to be successful.
#9 - Brad Smulders, Brad continues put up big numbers offensively while playing sound, disciplined defensive hockey, both attributes the team will require this weekend.

The boys trained well this week and understand the job at hand going into this weekend. Yes we will miss the Blue Tongues not coming on the road, however, injuries and off ice commitments are all apart of playing on a team in the AIHL. To be successful in achieving our goal of a final four finish, the boys know they will need to pull together to overcome these opportunities.

Cheers,
Kevin Sands