This weekend, Perth Ice Arena was shaken by two wild nights of superb action, highlighted by attacking bears, fierce battles, some aggressive bromance and nets full of goals.

The run-up to the final home games started off rather glumly for the Thunder and their fans. It began with a disheartening three-point deduction due to an Admin mistake, knocking the team out of their second place, and leading them into the less-than-joyful Adelaide weekend.

Near the end of the final game for the weekend of 16-17 August, our legendary goalie (#35) – he is legendary from where I’ve been watching the games – Aleksi Toivonen’s “boot” got him booted from play for two whole games!

What started out as a tragic sonnet gradually turned into a song of joy and victory when Dillon Dewar (#70) courageously laced up his skates and took his place in the crease with flair. The team rallied around him for the last part of the game, setting the stage for their games against Melbourne Mustangs.

Thunder would’ve won that Sunday game in just that last quarter of an hour if the net weren’t covered in a coating of puck repellent called Cale Dolan (#31). That’s my theory, and I’m sticking with it.

But we’ll never speak of those two games again…

Dillon played two excellent final home games this weekend. We are very proud of him. Thanks for stepping up to the challenge, Dillon.

Saturday evening, 23 August 2025, my son, his girlfriend and I made an airport run to fetch my cousin (she’s my mother’s age and they grew up like sisters) so that we could stage an elaborate surprise for my mother’s 83^rd birthday that would’ve made Shakespeare jealous with all its plot twists.

While we were reuniting the two overjoyed virtual sisters after more than 10 years apart, Perth Thunder and Melbourne Mustangs were writing a sweet drama of their own. I managed to catch bits and pieces of the live broadcast and watched the game later.

They spent the first 8 minutes or so of the first period fairly amicably chasing the puck back and forth with a few shots on goal. There was some pretty footwork, impressive slides and graceful falls to set the mood. The Mustangs even pretended to score a goal after the offside whistle was blown, just to boost their morale and mess with our unflappable goalie.

When the spectators were starting to settle into the soothing rhythm of the icy dance, the real action suddenly got “sticked-off” with a bang!

Thunder’s well-loved Jordy Kyros (#23) accidentally nearly took off Mustang’s Brody Lindal’s (#15) face during… well, the face off.

I guess Jordy took the instructions a bit too literally.

While our promptly forgiven hero enjoyed a long 4-minute break in the box, the play continued valiantly without him for a few seconds, and then, with 11:47 minutes left of the first period, it happened!

A bear attack!

Thunder’s fearless Yannic Lodge (#16) beautifully took advantage of a miscommunication between the Mustang’s goalie and his protector, sending the wayward puck into the net. The mesh hadn’t even stopped shaking when scores of teddy bears came flying onto the ice in a cascade of plush and colour. The attack quickly turned into a charming celebration.

Since the teddy bears were donated to Wheelchairs for Kids, many children all over the world will be receiving a teddy, touched by greatness, along with their wheelchairs.

It’s a beautiful tradition, and Yannic made good on his promise to open the floodgates.

After that goal, it soon became clear that the new spark Thunder found in the last 15 minutes of their final game against Adrenaline on the 17th was still burning bright.

This Saturday night, the Perth Thunder we know and love were back. They played like the Thunder and not like the Drizzle, scoring 14 goals – if you count the one that didn’t count because the buzzer beat it. I sure count it!

Stunning!

Barely a minute after Yannic’s bear-provoking goal, Perth’s Kieren Webster (#12) showcased the Thunder’s advanced teamwork by scoring a goal with a beauty set up by Ville Tenosalmi (#19), who skilfully stole it from the Mustangs. There was no teddy bear rain this time, as the weather forecast only predicted one teddy bear storm per Teddy-Bear-Toss game, but there were plenty of cheers and foot-stomping from the fans.

Inspired by his teammates’ performance, Kolby Johnson (#81) intercepted the puck from a Mustang player at high speed and found the net’s sweet spot in a quick, breathtaking play. He celebrated in style.

Yeah, it’s blurry, but it’s him! I promise.

And just like that, with 1.5 minutes left on their penalty kill, Thunder was leading with a score of 3-0. Yet, that was not enough to assuage their hunger for goals, as just a couple of minutes later, the forwards Yannic (#16), Kolby (#81), and Kieren (#12) teamed up to have a fast dance with the Mustangs.

Yannic won the board battle, forced a turnover, and Kieren passed the puck to Kolby, who buried it in the net for the second time.

Here we go, Thunder, here we go! Whoooooo! And then some!

With four and a half minutes of play left in the first period, the trumpets of war suddenly blared through the arena!

Fine, it didn’t, but during his quest to deliver the puck to the net, Riley Langille (#89) drew a penalty by getting hooked. All the Mustangs became excited and pounced on him, and on Maxim Lyashenko (#86) when he went in to save his comrade… I think…

War broke out! It was chaos!

Let’s just say there was a lot of aggressive affection going on behind the net, resulting in Thunder’s Jakob Ruck (#32) being manhandled to the ground, and Thunder’s Lynden Lodge (#15) rudely getting punched in the head.

The skirmish ended much faster than the three-hour board meeting afterwards – which lasted 5 minutes and 21 seconds, and resulted in… apparently nothing.

The commentators said Mustang player Maksim Astafiyev (#67) got two minutes for hooking and two for roughing. His teammate, Todd Cutter (#71), got two minutes for roughing, and Thunder player Jakob Ruck (#32) got two minutes for slashing in self-defence. I added that last bit to his sentence for clarification.

Or not, since nothing came up on the boards.

If breaking Thunder’s flow and momentum is what the Mustangs were after with that gong show, then: NICE TRY!

Well, a good fight often gets the motor running, and the Mustangs should’ve been less eager to rev the Thunder’s engine.

Though the Thunder’s almost immediate goal after that got waved off as a non-goal, it showed everybody that they were not put out at all.

Our guys are tough and washable, after all!

For some reason, play continued five on five until Thunder’s Alastair Punler (#25) and Mustang’s Brody Lindal (#15)  had a run-in, which might’ve been exaggerated. Who knows, but Punler had two minutes to ponder the joys of being stuck in a box.

Kolby Johnson (#81) took a couple of seconds to chat with Brody Lindal. Hopefully, he explained the difference between soccer and ice hockey to the lad.

With one minute and 28 seconds to go, some guy with a white and orange jersey accidentally smacked the puck into the net, changing the score to 4-1.

Yup, this is a 100% Perth Thunder-biased game review, as, according to me, there’s only one team on the ice; the rest is a blur.

Very well! For those who really care about that kind of thing, I’ll supply the name and number of the Mustang player who scored their first goal for the match. Nicholas Ponomarev (#14).

With 16 seconds left in the period,  Mustang’s Brody Lindal (#15) managed to get them another goal, proving that he does, after all, understand what ice hockey is. He changed the score to 4-2.

Perhaps all that stalling and drama paid off in breaking the flow a little bit… for now…

Just to make sure the Mustangs didn’t get too excited, Kolby Johnson (#81) scored another goal as the buzzer went off, calling an end to the first period, but it was declared a non-goal due to being fashionably late.

Still, the message was sent.

To be continued in the Second Period…

The images can be found in various posts on Perth Thunder’s Facebook page. Most of them were taken by Cassandra Edwards – thank you for giving me permission to use them. They are stunning.

https://www.facebook.com/PerthThunder
https://www.facebook.com/casssedwards

Disclaimer: I know virtually nothing about ice hockey, but I sincerely love it – the good, the bad and the ugly, and I mean that quite literally.

Though my sense of humour can sometimes be a bit confusing, nothing I write is meant to be offensive or mean. If you’re offended, don’t be. It’s unhealthy. ;D

Please let me know if I have any names or numbers wrong, as I rely on what I think I see on the backs of jerseys, hear from the excellent commentators (my teachers), and find on the AIHL team websites. My interpretations are not always accurate.

If I accidentally used your image without permission, please let me know so I can either remove it or credit you.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.