Weekend Preview: Thunder in Sydney

The CD Dodd Perth Thunder have their first road trip of the season this weekend, and after a great opening night win against Newcastle they face a challenging trip to Sydney to face the Bears and Ice Dogs.

WHO, WHEN AND WHERE
Saturday, April 29 vs Sydney Ice Dogs, 3pm WST at Macquarie Ice Rink (no video or audio stream)
Sunday, April 30 vs Sydney Bears, 3pm WST at Macquarie Ice Rink (no video or audio stream)

You can follow both games by following the Sydney Ice Dogs and Sydney Bears Twitter accounts.

KEYS TO WIN
Bernard Returns: Jessyko Bernard has made his way to Australia and will return to the line-up for the weekend series in Sydney. Bernard set a Thunder record last season with a 26-game point streak, and will slot on to the top line with Ben Breault and Tomek Sak. Bernard will add significant size and puck handling ability to the top line.

Solid Goaltending: Peter Di Salvo had a solid opening night against the defending champions on Sunday, stopping 33 of 35 shots to continue his stellar AIHL form. His counterparts for this weekend, Ice Dogs goaltender Damien Ketlo and the Bears’ Anthony Kimlin, let in just one goal on a combined 43 shots as the Ice Dogs beat the Bears 1-0 in their season opener. Expect both games to be a battle of goaltenders.

INJURIES
Alternate Captain Andrew Cox suffered an undisclosed injury in the game against the Northstars and will miss the weekend series in Sydney. Cox is currently a week-to-week proposition.

Youngster Jake Ruck also suffered a shoulder injury against Newcastle and won’t travel to Sydney, while Simon Kudla continues to recover from a wrist injury that will see him miss a second straight week.