Australian national team representative David Dunwoodie enjoyed a dream debut with the Canberra Brave in his quest to lift the Australian Ice Hockey League championship.
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The Brave shrugged off a determined Adelaide Adrenaline outfit to record a 5-3 victory at a sold-out Phillip Swimming and Ice Skating Centre on Saturday night.
Dunwoodie moved to the Brave in the off-season from the Sydney Ice Dogs and showed why he was the leading Australian point-scorer in the competition last year.
He was forced to miss last weekend's double-header against the Sydney Bears and Newcastle North Stars, but was elated to grab a victory in his Brave debut.
The Brave has improved to 2-1 for the season after reaching the play-offs last year.
"Winning a championship was a big factor in wanting to come down," Dunwoodie said.
"It's a good team, I know the guys really well and I reckon this year we've got a great chance to win.
"I was watching last weekend's games on live stream so it was a bit frustrating not being out there with the guys.
"It was unreal, best feeling ever to have that support behind you and playing with those guys is pretty fantastic."
The Brave took to the ice without injured captain Mark Rummukainen and Canadian recruit Kelly Geoffrey, who was squeezed out of the team with only four imports allowed each game.
The vocal home crowd got involved early as the Brave scored two goals in the first period to take a handy lead into intermission.
After a stalemate in the second period, Scott Pitt gave the Brave a 3-0 lead before the Adrenaline pegged two goals back in quick succession.
The Brave rose to the challenge with Jordan Gavin and Tyler Kubara finding the net to seal all three points.
The Adrenaline grabbed a consolation goal to show it can't be underestimated when the Brave makes the return trip to Adelaide later in the season.
"They're a very dangerous team," Dunwoodie said. "We lapsed a little bit in the third [period], they capitalised on our mistakes and got three goals.
"Early on it's important to get as many wins as possible when teams are still clicking together."
The Brave have a two-game road trip against the Perth Thunder in WA next weekend.
Australian Ice Hockey League: Canberra Brave 5 bt Adelaide Adrenaline 3 at the Phillip Swimming and Ice Skating Centre on Saturday.
