Walsh Hatrick Gives Blue Tongues Edge Over Bears

The Gold Coast Blue Tongues faced off against The Bears (of Sydney - based in Penrith) at the Bundall Iceland on Saturday night. A sell out crowd braved the wind and rain to support the team, in what became an up and down game amidst a rink full of mist that paused the game twice times midway through the second and third periods, due in part to the moisture in the air from the weather. Still, play went on, and the Blue Tongues took to the ice despite the foggy atmosphere.

A two minute boarding penalty by Blue Tongue Andre Selander in the first fourteen seconds of the game sent the crowd's hearts racing, but the Gold Coast penalty kill displayed once more how good they are by killing off not just Andre's penalty but the one that followed three minutes later.

The scoring was opened by Gold Coast local, Dave Upton. Four minutes later, Trevor Walsh (assisted by Dave Upton and Matt Stubbert) added to the tally for the first of his four goals of the night. Two minutes left in the first, Jon Bale accepted a sweet pass from Dave Upton to send a wrister into the left top corner of the net to give the Blue Tongues a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period. The Blue Tongues put twice a many shots on Bears goaltender Brent Burgoyney than they put on Blue Tongues' goaltender, Luke Fiveash.

In the second period, the Bears seemed to regroup, putting three goals on Luke Fiveash. Gold Coast seemed to deflate a little in the second period, with missed passes, lackluster defense and allowing the Bears to get some shots on goal. The Blue Tongues weren't to be outdone though, with Trevor Walsh scoring his second and third goals - his hatrick goal scored just twenty-seven seconds left in the second period.

The second intermission served well for the Blue Tongues, who came out intent to erase the second period's performance. While the Bears managed one more goal on Fiveash, the Blue Tongues - lead by Trevor Walsh scoring his fourth goal of the night, put three more goals on Burgoyney, the game ending 8-4 in the Blue Tongues favour.  Trevor Walsh lead the scoring with four goals, while Dave Upton and Brad Smulders also ended the night with one goal and three assists each.

The Blue Tongues face off against The Bears again tonight at 3.30pm at Bundall Iceworld.