In less than 2 days time, old friends, trans-tasmin brothers, and fellow ANZACs will go into battle to defend their countries honor.  No, i’m not talking about the Bledisloe Cup, i’m referring to the Australian representative team heading over to face off against the Kiwis in a 2-game Ice Hockey matchup!

Unlike the Bledisloe, where the All Blacks are by far the better team (go on, admit it, you know it’s true), the Ice Blacks are not so fortunate.  Over the years, they have never beaten Australia, something that as a fellow kiwi, i can’t say i’m all too pleased about.

So how is this year different to any other year?  Well, the Aussie team is not actually THE Aussie team, instead it’s a rep team put together from the Newcastle North Stars and Sydney Bears AIHL teams.  This rep team isn’t just some mix-match either, they have some solid import players such as John Halverson and great Australian local players in Rubes, Stransky and Matt Ezzy.

That said, the Kiwis are ready.  They know they’re the underdog, and they’re ok with that.  One thing is certain, this coming weekend things will heat up on the Ice in Dunedin, NZ!