Game 1 of the 2016 Ultimate Ice Hockey Championship was held on Saturday 15th October at Cockburn Ice Arena. A charity series, this year all profits from the UIHC would be donated to Telethon.
This may have been a game all in the name of charity, but pride and bragging rights were also on the line with both teams coming out hard and fast early. The first period saw a scoring frenzy with David Kudla putting the Suns on the board first with a rocket sent over the shoulder pads of Stars goaltender Dathan Pleiter. The Suns’ offensive start was soon answered as the Northern Stars got on a roll, scoring three unanswered goals, two from Dylan MacDonald and one from Tomek Sak. This gave the Stars a 3-1 lead heading into the first period break.
The second period saw more action with little scoring but plenty of physical play. Goals were hard to come by however penalties came thick and fast including a 5 minute and game misconduct for boarding to Stars defensemen Jamie Campbell. The lone goal of the period came from the stick of Rob Haselhurst, pulling the Suns up to within one at the final break.
The final period proved to be another penalty laden affair with both teams providing big opportunities with both Pleiter and Savage coming up big in net at both ends of the ice. The lone goal for the period belonged to Jamie Campbell, giving the Northern Stars a 4-2 win and a 1-0 series lead.
Game 2 will be played at Perth Ice Arena on Saturday 22nd October with the action kicking off from 5:30pm!