The WA Thundersticks have got their title defence of the AHL back on track after defeating the Tassie Tigers 5-3 in Canberra.

After a poor start, WA had another scare following yesterday’s defeat and were down 2-1 at the break.

They eventually ran out 5-3 winners tp ensure they would head into round three with some confidence.

The Tassie goalkeeper Berkeley Bruton was under early pressure and eventually conceded a goal after a brilliant pass started by Brent Dancer found Craig Boyne in space to open the scoring in the 13th minute.

Tassie responded with sustained pressure and after several shots on goal, earned a penalty corner which was ably converted by Luke Doerner flicking low to goalkeeper Tyler Lovell’s right.

They kept up the pressure and earned another corner which was again converted, this time by Nick Budgeon, who sent his flick high to Lovell’s left, deflecting off a defender.

Bruton had to be brilliant in goal, saving a number of shots and marshaling his defence as WA took on a more positive approach in the second period.

The Thundersticks moved Dancer to a more defensive role, a decision which paid dividends with a tighter defence and more options in attack. After earning a penalty corner, a sliding tackle by a Tigers’ defender resulted in a penalty stroke, converted by Grant Schubert low to Bruton’s left. This was the catalyst for further pressure and WA followed up with a penalty corner and two field goals in the following 13 minutes.

With the game lost, the Tigers’ Doerner pushed higher and after sustained pressure down their right side, the Tigers earned a penalty corner which was converted by Nick Budgeon.

- Hockey Australia