AT A GLANCE the
SATURDAY 27th OF APRIL - AT THE 'BRAVE CAVE' ve')
weekend
CAVE BRAVE welcome to the
WELCOME BRAVE FANS!!
From all reports, after our double header weekend openers, the new rink management have done a great job with some rink alterations, proper food in the canteen, courtesy of Phat Boy Burgers - and a rather extravagant assortment of drinks in the bar courtesy of our naming rights partner, Caribou Kingston - and one of our major sponsors, Bright Brewery. Well done everyone!!
It’s been a slow start to the season for the Brave, currently sitting at 1 and 5 putting us in fourth in the Rurak Conference and ninth on the overall. We still have players away on national duties and many of our imports still to come.
This weekend will be a tough test against the Northstars ho looking pretty good so far this season hitting top spot in the the overall. Having said that Newcastle were down Adelaide team, to finally take the game expected a more convincing result without the OT play.
And in other news.........................
Our new playing kit for this year has finally arrived, after shipping and Customs delaysand what seemed like an eternity, the boys will roll out in these little beauties this weekend against the Northstars.
Stay tuned for more news on the gold jerseys and when you can see them in live action!!!!
STATS CORNER sean o'connor
The rivalry is back for 2024, Northstars vs Brave has produced plenty of memorable moments in the Brave’s 10-year history. So, what’s in store for us this weekend?
Player absences continues to bite hard for both teams. International duty is having a massive effect. However, the numbers suggest one team is being affected more than the other in the Brave Stars clash this weekend.
Canberra has 7 players in total off on international duty. 6 players with the Australian team in Serbia and 1 player with the New Zealanders in Bulgaria. Bayley, Casey and Tyler Kubara, Mitch Henning, Nick Christensen and Aleksi Toivonen are all with the Mighty Roos and Jacob Carey is with the Ice Blacks.
All are big losses for the Brave. But Carey in particular was the bright spark for the team in the first two weekends of the season. Jacob presently leads the scoring charts for Canberra with 9 points from 4 games. His creativity was missing against the Lightning last weekend and it is noticeable.
On top of players out because of international duty, the Brave are also still missing 3 imports and Jake Ratcliffe is yet to feature.
On a brighter note, Matt Harvey will be back this weekend, after missing the Lightnings games, and he will be notching up his 150th AIHL and Brave game. Everyone needs to make sure to give him a special shoutout and chant.
Newcastle on the other hand have 1 player on international duty. Eithan Hawes is with the Australian team presently as the Aussies fight hard in Division 2A. In addition to Hawes, the Novocastrians are missing Riley Klugerman, who is yet to feature this season.
sean o'connor - stats corner
But apart from that, the Stars have a pretty full line up, including 4 imports who are causing all kinds of havoc to opposition on the ice currently. The incredibly impressive Aiden Wagner is a D-man who loves to get forward. The American leads the scoring charts for the Stars with 18 points from 4 games.
The other key point for the Brave this weekend will be stopping the rampaging in-form Wehebe Darge and Beau Taylor. The talented Australian international forwards have posted big numbers (26 points combined) so far and come to Canberra full of confidence to add to their tallies.
Last season the Brave held a 75% win-rate vs the Stars and a positive goal difference of +4. After the 3-7 loss to open the season, it’s going to take a big effort to maintain that win rate this season and get the goal difference back into the positive.
#FOREVERBRAVE Sean.
WATCH brave players to
CANBERRA BRAVE | TOMMY STEVEN
Tommy has been around the league for a while now starting out with the Mustangs way back in 2016 and then moving onto the Bears after a couple of seasons in the US. Tommy has honed his craft to become a goal scorer and great team player, with 22 goals and 20 assists in the 2023 AIHL season. #17
CANBERRA BRAVE | BODHI MATTHEW
Bodhi Matthew made his debut for the Brave against the Northstars in game one of the season and shows improvement every time he hits the ice. At only 16 years of age, he shows great game maturity and isn’t afraid to mix it with the big boys! Bodhi will be a great asset as he matures and grows as a player. #29
Lachlan
Charlie
TEAM LINEUP
Jonatan
Toby
Alex TETREAULT (G)
Lachlan WHITE (G)
Jackson GALLAGHER
Bodhi MATTHEW
Justin MAYLAN (IM)
Joey MAATOUK
Kai MIETTINEN (C)
Jordon BRUNT
Matt
Matt MARASCO
Henry
Ricki MIETTINEN
HEAD COACH:
ASSISTANT COACH: EQUIP. MANAGER: PHYSIOTHERAPIST: SPORT MASSAGE: TEAM DOCTOR:
#14 #17 #21 #22 #29 #35 #42 #43 #47 #61 #64 #71 #81 #90 #91 #96
#4
FAHMY
YORK
STEVEN
Tommy
RUTH
KUBARA
HARVEY
YORK
Stu
Helbren
Letki
Russ Dr Rob Reid
Philps Jeff
Tom
Jono Carey Brent
#8 #9 #10 #15 #16 #17 #23 #24 #31 #33
#44 #75 #86 #91 #96
TEAM LINEUP
Hamish POWELL
Wehebe DARGE (A)
Tim STANGER
Beau TAYLOR
Drew ROBSON
Francis DROLET (A) (IM)
MaliQ WEST
Matt DESAUTELS (IM)
Charlie SMART (G)
Sean OULTRAM
Adien WAGNER (IM)
Matt MONTGOMERY (G)
Mackenzie GALLAGHER
Patrick NADIN (A)
Hunter ELLEN
COACH: ASST. COACH:
Dave Ferrari
Craig Tonks
MANAGER: MEDIC: Kevin Noble
Bruce Hounslow
GAME PREVIEW grizzly’s
The Caribou Canberra Brave return to the Brave Cave this Saturday, April 27, where they host longtime rivals, and Rurak Conference leaders, the Newcastle Northstars.
The Brave look to bounce back from a less than desirable showing last weekend, where the Brisbane Lightning plundered the Brave Cave, securing all six points on offer, and outscoring the undermanned Brave 10-4.
Following the final buzzer, the sights were undoubtedly firmly set on the visiting Northstars coming to town.
The Caribou Canberra Brave will be looking to avenge their opening round loss to the Northstars, which saw the Brave fall 3-7, despite flashes of brilliance and a plethora of positives to take away.
With the Brave still without their Mighty Roos contingent, it will be a tall order to stand against a potent offense that boasts Wehebe Darge, Aiden Wagner and Francis Drolet who account for three of the top four positions atop the league in scoring.
The Brave on the other hand, are led by youth in the absence of their Mighty Roos. 18-year-old Jacob Carey leads the charge, with Tommy Steven hot on his heels. The only difference being Carey’s superior 2.3 points per game average.
Between the pipes, Charlie Smart holds a 2.5 Goals Against Average (GAA) and a .903 save percentage (SV%), compared to Alex Tetreault’s 4.8 GAA and .864 SV%. Do not let those numbers fool you though, as Tets has been without defensive anchors Bayley Kubara and Nick Christensen.
grizzly’s game preview
A relative highlight for the Brave so far this season has been their Penalty Kill, with 19 of 28 penalties successfully killed off, running at 0.678 PK%. The Power Play percentage, however, will be a particularly significant point to improve on. The Brave have only converted on three of their thirty-one power play opportunities, for a paltry 0.096 PP%.
Keep an eye out for the fireworks on this one, as the last time these two teams met, there were some extracurricular activities, including the exchange of a few post-game dinner plans in the handshake line after the final buzzer.
THE BRING
PASSION
VOLUNTEERS our game day
The Canberra Brave would like to say thank you to our Game Day Volunteers - without whom the successful running of our games would not be possible.
Game Day Manager:
Timekeepers / Scorers:
Master Of Ceremonies: Music / DJ:
Memberships:
Ticketing: Merchandise:
Rink Ushers/Setup/All-Rounders: Chuck-A-Puck Retrievers:
Brave Game Day Photographers:
Live-stream Commentators:
Mandi Webb
Darren Sault, Kelly Sault
Jez Margosis
Jess Driver
Kerry Ann Evans, Wendy Scealy
Zach Lyall, Warren Price, Maribel Finnin
Loraine Rourke, Manuela Rudolf
Zoe Chamberlain, Jess Kalinowski, Brandan Ingham, Krisy Maricic
Annie Abbott, Taylah Abbott, Geoff & Lynette Colquhoun, Mick Kelly, Leah Meek, Louise Stevenson
Aaron, Beau, Jordan, Kahira, Panda
Paul Furness, David Tate, George Hain 'Grizzly', ‘Sledge’, Murray Barton
The Canberra Brave would also like to acknowledge the AIHL Accredited Photographers, whose work we use in the production of this publication.
For all media enquiries, please contact: admin@cbrbrave.com.au
PROUD PARTNERS
2024 NAMING RIGHTS PARTNER
We’ve got Poutine in the Canteen! With Leeroy and Bright Brewery in the Bar!!
2024 MEDIA PARTNER
PROUD SPONSORS
MAJOR TEAM SPONSORS
PROUDSUPPORTERSOFTHECANBERRABRAVE
PROUD SPONSORS
PLAYER SPONSORS
JUSTIN MAYLAN & TOMMY STEVEN
ALEXANDRE TETREAULT
ALEKSI TOIVONEN
CASEY KUBARA & BAYLEY KUBARA
JACKSON GALLAGHER
KAI MIETTINEN & MATT HARVEY
PLAYER SPONSORS
MITCH HENNING CHARLIE YORK
JORDON BRUNT
JACOB CAREY
THE WOODS FAMILY
THE CAVE DWELLERS
NICK CHRISTENSEN
ROBYN & DAVID KEMP LACHLAN FAHMY TYLER KUBARA
