Thunder 4 - Ice 2

The Perth Thunder have locked up second position in the AIHL standings and continued their perfect record over the first-placed Melbourne Ice in season 2016 with a 4-2 victory at O'Brien Group Arena on Saturday night.

Heading in to Saturday's game requiring a single point to ensure a second-placed finish, the Thunder gained all three as they won their third match-up against the Ice this year.

The Thunder imports were once again on fire, led by Jessyko Bernard (1 goal, 3 assists), who continued his record-breaking point streak, and Michael Dorr (1 goals, 3 assists), while Thomas Heemskerk saved 33 of 35 shots on net to continue his stellar season.

Ben Breault (2 goals, 1 assist) broke the Thunder record for points in a single season as well, with his tally moving to 51 as more Thunder records were re-written.

The Ice opened the scoring at the halfway point of the first period, but Bernard was on hand to give the Thunder a quick reponse, tying the game 1-1 less than a minute later on assists from Dorr and Sam Wilson.

The score remained 1-1 through to the third period, before Breault gave the Thunder the lead just under 3 minutes in to the period on assists from Dorr and Bernard.

Dorr then made the Thunder advantage 3-1 with his goal at the halfway point of the period, before the Ice responded on the power play to cut the deficit to one goal with eight minutes remaining.

The Thunder held on under a barrage of Ice shots, with Heemskerk stopping 17 of 18 third-period shots, before Breault iced the game with an empty-net goal to give the Thunder a 4-2 win and secure second place for season 2016.

The second-placed finish is the best in Thunder history, and will mean we play the reigning champion Newcastle North Stars in a sudden-death semi-final on Saturday, August 28.

The final game of the regular season will take place Sunday at O'Briend Group Arena, another top-of-the-table clash with the Melbourne Ice as both sides prepare for the AIHL Finals.