In a game reminiscent of their first meeting of the season, the Newcastle Rescue Northstars overcame a fiery Sydney Bears team on Sunday to snatch a victory from the team.

The Bears, hosting the Northstars at Macquarie Ice Rink, came out of the gates strong and gained a goal less than one minute into the game.

Much like their first meeting in Newcastle on April 27, the Bears led for much of the game but lost steam towards the end, opening the gates to the Northstars to gain the upper hand and win by one goal.

Sydney Bears led 1-0 after the first period of Sunday's game.

A goal from Northstars import Francis Drolet, assisted by Tomas Landa, five minutes into the second period put Newcastle on equal footing, 1-1, but another Bears goal with just one minute and 30 second left in the period saw the home team pull out to 2-1 leaders.

It was Drolet who equalised the game in the third period. A follow up goal from Northstars local Liam Manwarring saw the Newcastle team pull ahead for the first time of the game.

Manwarring's goal would seal the game - 3-2.

Newcastle was down two imports in Sunday's game. The team is awaiting the arrival of new imports Trey Phillips and Luke Simpson. The pair are due to arrive in Newcastle on June 6.

The roster was bolstered with Queensland defenceman Thomas Kiliwnik.

Sunday's game in Sydney was the Northstars' first one-game weekend since the start of the 2019 AIHL season. The win was the Northstars 10th from 11 games.

The Northstars' next game is at Hunter Ice Skating Stadiums versus Sydney Ice Dogs on Sunday, June 9.