Weekend Preview: Thunder in NSW

There are just three weekends remaining in the regular season for the Perth Thunder, and the penultimate road trip of the season sees the team travelling through New South Wales to take on the Newcastle North Stars and Sydney Bears.

Requiring two more wins to clinch a 2016 AIHL Finals berth, the Thunder have plenty to play for heading in to Saturday's second vs third battle with the North Stars in Newcastle, with the season series thus far being a tight tussle.

The two teams met on the opening weekend of the season in Perth and split the series, before the North Stars took the points in a 3-2 decision over the Thunder in May to lead the season series 2-1.

One point separates the two teams in the standings, and the Thunder will be keen to make sure they put one foot in the finals and reclaim second spot from the North Stars.

The Thunder continue to be lead by Ben Breault, who has moved up to fourth in league scoring with 40 points (20G, 20A) in 22 games, and Thomas Heemskerk, whose 15 wins and .925 save percentage are good enough for second place in AIHL goaltender standings.

The North Stars rank third in goals scored in the AIHL, and boast the league's current leading scorer Connor McLaughlin, who has 54 points (32G, 22A) on the season, and goaltender Dayne Davis, who has the second-best goals against average (2.47) in the league.

Sunday's game sees the Thunder travel back to Penrith for a game against the Bears, the first of three straight games against the Sydney-siders.

After a slow start to the season, the Bears found some form and rocketed in to finals contention through June, but four consecutive losses sees them mathematically out of the finals race with five games remaining.

Backstopped by Mighty Roos goaltender Anthony Kimlin, the Bears won't be going quietly in to the end of the season, and will look to disrupt the momentum of the Thunder, who will be desperate to secure a finals berth before the last home stand of the season.

MATCH INFORMATION
When: Saturday 3.00pm AWST, Sunday 3.00pm AWST
Where:Saturday Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, Newcastle.
Sunday Penrith Ice Palace.
Stream: Saturday: https://www.youtube.com/user/NorthStarsOfficial
Sunday: http://mixlr.com/sydney-bears/ (audio only)