I can’t find a free stream to watch the game, but the AWIHL title will be decided today or tonight depending on your time zone. I say “today or tonight” because the teams are playing at the O’Brien Icehouse in Melbourne, where the Brisbane Lightning will meet the Perth Inferno in the gold medal match at 5pm Melbourne time or midnight in the Central Time Zone on March 1. Melbourne, for those who do the math, is 17 hours ahead of Winnipeg.The AWIHL finals will feature the top two teams in the AWIHL this season, as Perth finished their 20-game season with a record of 17-2-0-1, while Brisbane finished with a record of 13-5-2-0. The AWIHL uses a three-point system, so these two teams finished nine points apart in the standings, but these two seemed to enjoy playing each other as Perth finished with a 2-1-0-1 record while Brisbane had a 1-2-1-0 record. It should be noted that all four matches between these two sides were decided by one goal, so one more match wouldn’t hurt!
The Perth Inferno was led by league champion Sara Sammons, who scored 21 goals and 50 points this season. Elizabeth Scala and Michelle Clark-Crumpton were the only other players to score double figures in goals with 16 and 15 respectively, and former Guelph Gryphons defenseman Katherine Bailey, who captains the team, was the top scoring back with a pair of goals and 16 points. Sasha King was the starter for the Inferno this season, going 16-2-0-1 with a 2.61 GAA, a .910 save percentage and one shutout.
On the other hand, the Brisbane Lightning were led by Annmarie FitzGerald, who finished second in the league with 22 goals and 47 points. Brisbane saw more depth as Emma Wuthrich had 40 points, alternate captain Lindsey Kiliwnik had 20 goals and 36 points. Former Nipissing Lakers defenseman Madison Laplante had seven goals and 21 points from the blue line, while Courtney Mahoney led all defensemen in goals while matching her jersey number with eight. Katie Meyer was 8-2-0-0 in ten games this season when the Lightning changed goalies, with a 3.59 GAA and a .891 save percentage.
If you ask me who is going to win the game, I can’t tell you. Honestly, finding a free stream or a channel with some AWIHL coverage was harder than finding a wombat in the wild, so I haven’t been able to watch any games this season. There is an option to stream the game for a fee, but I wouldn’t spend $8 on a single game stream. You can do that if you want, but I’ll skip it.
Either way, I’ll take a guess and say the Brisbane Lightning will find a way to secure the gold medal. I say that based on the fact that they won the last game between these two sides, but also because the Lightning had a battle to get into the gold medal game, where they held onto a lead and defeated the Melbourne Ice 5-4. Perth played a solid game beating the Sydney Sirens 4-2 but Brisbane had to close out their zone to win. If they can do that again, they should emerge victorious!
Of course, all predictions on HBIC are fully refundable if I’m wrong, so take my prediction with a handful of salt. I base it on not watching games, reading stats, and analyzing a schedule, so my expertise on AWIHL matters is virtually nil.
For those wondering, former Regina Cougars forward Jordan Kulbida finished tied for third in the league with 41 points, and she was second in goals scored with 24. Her team, the Adelaide Rush, was not very strong this season as they posted a 6-11-2-1 record and finished in fifth place, missing the playoffs. They were also the team where the Melbourne Ducks earned their only point this season, as Adelaide needed extra time to beat Melbourne and Kulbida scored the match winner. For the record, the Ducks posted a record of 0-19-0-1 this year.
If you want to watch the game, it starts in three hours from the publishing time of this article at 9:00 PM CT, so put on the coffee and get ready to watch hockey into the wee hours. It should be a good final between the AWIHL’s best teams, so we’ll see who comes out on top with the divine medal as the best Australian women’s team!
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
#Australias #title #decided