North Star-Sirens vs Adrenaline

The last time the  Adelaide Adrenaline and North Star Sirens met in the AWIHL was on the 3rd & 4th of December in a very intense weekend of hockey at the IceArena in Thebarton. Adrenaline were in devastating form but the 12 goal to 5 combined score line did not reflect how close these two teams were. With more on their last hit out before the AWIHL Finals. So now it’s the Sirens turn to host the Adrenaline in the final round of the AWIHL 2011/12 season which sees the Sirens battling to hold on to second position from a fast finishing Melbourne Ice.

For Head Coach John Botterill and his Adrenaline team, it is all about following up on the form prior to the Christmas and New Year break.

“Against Brisbane because of the big break it was all about getting the feel back, supporting each other and working hard. With the Sirens team being really competitive it’s a really good lead up for us going in to the finals.” John said

The Adrenaline are hoping to be lift to the level they were at last year and carry that in to the finals weekend later this month.

“Primarily it’s about getting back to that offensive advantage that we had of really taking it too them but also making sure we’re still working on our defensive coverage as well.” John added

For the Adrenaline this means doing what they have done best all season, controlling the game from their defensive lines and in neutral ice allowing their forwards apply the physical pressure at the net.

For the North Star Sirens they will be looking for greater puck possession and movement on the larger rink which they struggled with in Adelaide. Player rotation through their lines will be very important and the timing of these moves. Amelia Matheson and Melissa Rulli will once again be the focus of this and the speed of Samantha Lai going forward will important for the Sirens who will be looking to put pressure on the Adrenaline net.

The Adrenaline will hold no fear of the larger rink as their style of game will be well suited to it with their speed and possession game which has seen them dominate this season. The versatility and orchestration of Bethanie Kavanagh combined with the speed and firepower of Tash Farrier, Rylie Padjen and Andrea Steranko may prove to be the key for the Adrenaline.

Adelaide’s consistency will be the key to take them in to this weekend full of confidence over a Sirens team that has been lacking the consistency that we are used to seeing. But, with the added incentive of holding on to second position, this will be a tough encounter  and Women’s hockey doesn’t get much better than this.

Reminder that you can purchase your AWIHL finals tickets via the Brisbane Goannas      http://www.goannasicehockey.com/

If you are on twitter follow @ADL_AdrenalineW and @IceandAll for all your updates.