Thunder 7 - Ice 3

Third place and a semi-final date with the Newcastle Northstars have been locked away for the CD Dodd Perth Thunder, as they rounded out the regular season with a commanding 7-3 victory at O’Brien Icehouse on Sunday night.

The Thunder celebrated milestone games or Andrew Cox (200) and Jamie Woodman (150) by registering their second emphatic win in as many days, with six different skaters finding the back of the net.

Rob Haselhurst, Kieren Webster and Louick Marcotte each tallied three points, while Keven Veilleux, Jason McMahon and Andrew Cox each recorded multi-point games, with Jake Ruck scoring his first goal of the season.

Nico Viksten was again solid, making 21 saves on 23 shots faced before being relieved by Nick Windle, who made three saves on four shots in his Perth Thunder debut and his first AIHL game since 2005.

It was the home side who got the scoring started, with Jonathon Bremner finding the back of the net early for the Ice, before the Thunder scored two quick goals through Andrew Cox and Rob Haselhurst to take a 2-1 lead in to first intermission.

Kieren Webster then added the 3-1 goal before the two teams wrestled for momentum through a hard-fought second period.

The Thunder broke the shackles late, with a game-breaking three minute spell seeing Cox and Marcotte find the back of the net to bring the lead to 5-1 after two periods.

The two teams traded goals through the third period as the Thunder made sure they ended the regular season on a high, with Jason McMahon and Jake Ruck each scoring in a 7-3 win.

The win sets up a semi-final with the Newcastle Northstars next Saturday night at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, with puck drop at 5pm AWST. Details of the Perth Thunder’s official watch party will be made available in the coming days.