The Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues face off at home against the Sydney Bears for two games this weekend and defence is the focus. The Blue Tongues have no trouble keeping up with the top teams in the goal scoring department where they are currently ranked 3rd amongst eight teams in the AIHL. However, at training this week the focus going forward and aiming for a top four spot is to bear down on their opponents top scoring lines.

Blue Tongues import forward Mike McRae dumps the puck

Key local players like Dave Upton, Ross Howell, and Alex Hall will have big roles to play this weekend in their defensive roles, whilst imports Matt Amado (Canada), Tobias Falk (Sweden), and Mike Mcrae (USA) will be called on to continue their scoring domination of the last couple of games where they have had a hand in all 14 goals scored in the last two games.

Two weeks ago in Sydney the Blue Tongues came from behind with less than five minutes to play to run down the Bears 7-5 in Sydney. With the home ice advantage the local team will be looking to get on top early. After coming back from injury a couple of games ago goaltender Luke Fiveash will be looking to extend his unbeaten run to three wins in a row, starting on Saturday at 4.00 PM at Iceland in Bundall.

The Blue Tongues currently sit in fifth outside the top four by seven points (3 points for each win), however they hold three games in hand on fourth placed Adelaide Adrenaline. The Sydney Bears have had an unfortunate year sitting at the bottom of the table after having qualified in top four last year and a finals appearance.