They are officially "friendly" games but they have provided a welcome boost of confidence for the Dunedin Thunder.
Back-to-back wins over the Mako invitation team were just what the Thunder needed ahead of the final stretch of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League.
A rare shutout, 4-0, at the Dunedin Ice Stadium on Friday night was followed by a 3-2 thriller on Saturday night.
A feature of the opening game was the debut as a goaltender of Sam Audas, who saved all 22 shots on his goal.
In return, the Thunder fired in 47 attempts at the Mako goal.
All four of the Thunder goals came in an utterly dominant first period, and all were from open play.
Noah Gregory opened the flurry of scoring, Paris Heyd fired in back-to-back goals, and Luc Taillon scored the fourth.
Max Simpson added two assists for the Thunder, which might have been eager to add more scoring in the second and third periods but could be well satisfied with the defensive effort.
Things were considerably tighter 24 hours later.
The Thunder scored the only goal of the first period through Tristan Weekley but both the second and third periods were tight, each featuring a goal apiece.
Connor Rolfe scored the Thunder’s second goal and Ryan Wonfor the third.
The Thunder has three doubleheaders left, starting with the derby against the Stampede in Queenstown this weekend.
The Stampede showed its strength in the clutch to claim a gritty 3-2 win over the Botany Swarm in Auckland on Saturday night.
Axel Ruski-Jones scored the Stampede’s opening goal in the first period, Matt Schneider fired in a goal in the second, and Brendan Walkom scored the game-winner with a couple of minutes to play.
The teams were playing again last night.
