There's always a little bit of nervous energy around an ice hockey team before the first game of a season, according to Canberra Brave captain Matthew Harvey.
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And it's little wonder this year, with the 2018 Goodall Cup winners set for a grand final rematch against the Sydney Bears at Macquarie Ice Rink on Sunday.
The round one clash will be the Brave's first time to gauge their performance on the ice.
"Last year, we came out flying early on without our full roster, so we're hoping this year we achieve a similar thing.
"No matter what happens in the game, it's a good measure of where we're at as a team."
The Brave has been training with experts from the AIS, who have been measuring the team's performance on and off the ice.
Harvey said even when the results weren't being measured, a desire to beat what players knew they had already achieved pushed them to work harder in training.
That hard work raises the standard in the league each year, making each win harder fought than the last and pushing the local talent to keep up with imported players.
But Harvey also pointed to strong bonds in the team, which had kept negativity away from last year's winning side.
"It's something special that those friendships that you form are some of the best ones you have in your life," he said.
Head coach Rob Starke said it would be hard to replicate last year's success but five strong new imports coming into the team this season would help the Brave's cause.
"The decision was to bring in five fresh imports and we're looking forward to welcoming them into the Brave family," he said.
Starke said star recruit NHL and AHL veteran Matt Climie was a "gold standard goalie" and the team was fortunate with all its imports this season.
Joining Climie, will be an all-Canadian set of recruits, with Tyler Mayea, Adam Kambeitz, Jordan Draper and Brayden Low all set to don the skates for the Canberra team.
Imports were often left with little time between seasons, but Starke said playing in Australia was a great off season for international players if teams handled it properly.
"At the end of the day they're here to help us win hockey games, but they're also here to help us prepare for their next professional season," he said.
But Starke admitted it would be difficult to replicate last year's success, which also saw the Brave crowned ACT sports team of the year.
"We'll do our best to take on game at a time and keep things in perspective and try and get back to that finals weekend and perform on the big stage," he said.
The club is also experiencing big changes off the ice, with the Canberra Cavalry taking over the ice hockey club's administration.
There hasn't been any change from a player's perspective but Starke they would work closely with the baseball team through the transition period.
Starke said it would be a "terrific" partnership between the clubs.
AIHL ROUND ONE
Sunday: Canberra Brave v Sydney Bears at Macquarie Ice Rink, Sydney, 5pm.