Thundersticks Retain Second Position in AHL

The Western Australian Thundersticks charge in the 2011 Australian Hockey League appears on track after two wins at home in Perth in rounds 4 and 5 of the AHL.

The Thundersticks retain their position in second on the AHL ladder behind Queensland, after recording wins over Canberra and Victoria at the Perth International Hockey Stadium in Curtin.

The AIS-WAIS pair of Jonathon Charlesworth and Trent Mitton did the damage early for WA against Canberra, with Charlesworth finishing a neat team move after six minutes before Mitton confirmed the Thundersticks ascendancy on 20 minutes with another well taken field goal.

Canberra returned a more threatening prospect in the second half and halved the deficit through Kookaburras international Glenn Turner, who converted a penalty corner.

WA regrouped to hold onto the win with the match ending 2-1 to the home side.

The Thundersticks continued their strong form in round 5 with a significant 3-1 victory over Victoria which kept the Vikings in third place.

Trent Mitton was again in goal scoring form, opening the scoring after just four minutes before the teams traded goals for a 2-1 half time score in favour of the Thundersticks.

Another AIS-WAIS athlete Brent Dancer capitalised on a WA penalty corner after 63 minutes to gift the home side a two goal buffer, which it would retain for a final score of 3-1 and a clean sweep of its two match home series in Perth.