Thunder 4 - Bears 3

The Perth Thunder have clinched a place in the 2016 AIHL Finals, and moved within striking distance of first place in the AIHL standings with a 4-3 victory over the Sydney Bears at Penrith Ice Palace.

A tight defensive struggle through two periods broke open in the third, as the Thunder looked to put the foot down to make sure they clinched a finals berth at their first opportunity.

Again it was the import forwards shouldering the load for the Thunder, with Michael Dorr leading the way with four points (2G, 2A), Ben Breault three (1G, 2A) and Jessyko Bernard two (2A), while Rob Haselhurst capped a stellar weekend with another two-point night (1G, 1A).

The game went scoreless through the first period and right up until the final three minutes of the second, when the Bears took a 1-0 lead, before Breault opened the Thunder scoring just 30 seconds later to tie the score at 1-1.

The score remained that way until the second intermission, and a short-handed tally from Haselhurst put the Thunder in the lead early in the second, before the Bears equalised on the same power play to level the scores again at 2-2.

Dorr then put his stamp on the game, with two straight goals, including one on the power play, powering the Thunder to a 4-2 advantage with less than four minutes on the clock.

The Bears sparked some late interest in the game, scoring on the power play to make it 4-3, but they couldn't find a way past Thomas Heemskerk again as the Thunder held on for a 4-3 victory.

The win moves the Thunder to 48 points and second place in the standings, nine points behind first-placed Melbourne Ice with four games remaining, including two against the Ice in Melbourne.

The Thunder will now host the Bears in the final home series of the season on Saturday and Sunday, August 13-14. Tickets to the games are available here.