Sydney Ice Dogs HC beat Perth 4:7 in the AIHL on Thursday night, a result that settled the visitors' nerves after a patchy run of form. The scoreline told the story quickly — Sydney found the net first and never looked back, while Perth could only answer in fragments.
By then it was clear this was never going to be a tight affair. Sydney camped in the final third with more purpose, and Perth's defence, already stretched from recent results, simply could not hold the line for long. And here's the thing about high-scoring games — once the momentum shifts, it rarely shifts back.
Perth had shown flashes of promise earlier in the month, a 5:1 victory over Adelaide, but the 1:6 defeat on Monday suggested something was unraveling. Three losses in their last five games meant they were not travelling to make up the numbers, and they paid for it.
Sydney, meanwhile, came into the fixture on a roll. Eight wins in their last ten matches, including a 13:10 thriller against Brisbane, meant they knew exactly how to open a scoring fest. To be fair, Perth's own defensive record this season — thirteen losses in thirty games — offered little reassurance.
The final 4:7 leaves Perth four points off the top four, though the gap means little with the season still unfolding. Sydney sit sixth but have played the same number of games and hold a superior goal difference. They cannot afford another slip if they want to catch the leaders.