Game Recaps
Game Recap: Rampage edge out a win against the Avalanche
Adelaide racked up their fifth one goal loss of the season as the Rampage found a way to win a 3-2 hockey game at the Ice ArenA on Saturday.
Brisbane starting goalie Luca D’Arsié deserves a lot of the credit in a 27-save performance. He’s biggest saves came in the third period when he denied Adelaide forwards Darren Corstens and Jake Riley on short-handed breakaway opportunities.
Harley Anderson chipped in with a goal and an assist in his return to Adelaide for the Rampage.
Hockey is a game of margins and Brisbane found two decisive moments in this contest. The first was a goal with one second left in the first period. Had the shot been released literally two seconds earlier, maybe it’s a different story.
The second moment came in the eventual winning goal in the second. An innocent puck was chipped from behind the net that took an odd bounce and toppled into the Adelaide net. Had that not happened, it may be a 2-1 Adelaide win.
Brisbane, for the third straight game vs Adelaide, just found a way to win. They clogged the middle, supported their goalie and capitalised off opportunities to win by one.
A lot was made of the offensive firepower of imports Jordan McTaggart and Owen Sobchak but neither player found the back of the net. Brisbane’s depth stood tall.
Adelaide opened the scoring in what you would call a “coaches dream moment.” Joey MacDougall won the draw cleanly and it went right to the stick of Nathaniel Benson. Within seconds, Adelaide’s leading point man ripped a shot past D’Arsié to open the scoring.
Brisbane responded at the midway point when Anthony Barnes fed former Adelaide Adrenaline player Harley Anderson all alone in front of the net. The captain made no mistake to even the game at one.
Then, a highlight reel goal that makes your jaw drop. Yoann Levesque gave a nice touch pass back to Darren Corstens at the centre line. Corstens turned on the burners and blew by two Brisbane players, cut through traffic, found his way in front of the net alone and beat D’Arsié glove side to make it 2-1.
A late Benson penalty gave Brisbane a power play with 15 seconds to go in the first period. Owen Sobchak had a point shot deflected by Josh Anderson that just squeeked through Friederich to send the teams to the break level.
Friederich and D’Arsié both made a few crucial pad saves in the opening period to keep the scores from blowing out.
The second period was a little stale for the most part. Adelaide controlled most of the play, outshooting Brisbane 12-5 in the middle frame.
But it was the most unsuspecting shot that found the back of the net for the visitors. Stefan Speck gobbled up a loose puck in the corned and just flicked one from a sharp angle behind the net. Derry Adler provided traffic in front and as he knocked into Friederich, the puck knocked the back of the net for the only goal of the period.
Brisbane played an excellent shut down game in the third period. They limited chances, iced the puck, and killed momentum.
Their biggest player was Luca D’Arsié who stopped two key breakaways in the win.