High Tempo, Hard Lesson: Northstars Fall Short

---

The Escadia Newcastle Northstars put on a spirited performance at home on Sunday night, but critical turnovers and missed special team opportunities saw them fall short with a 3-5 defeat against the top of the table, Melbourne Ice.
 
Despite a promising start that saw the Northstars jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, goals from Yevgeni Skachkov, Wehebe Darge, and Brian Funes weren’t enough to steal a win. Errors and an inability to convert on five power play chances ultimately proved decisive in a game Newcastle largely dictated in terms of possession and tempo.
 
“It’s all about puck management”, said captain Liam Manwarring post-game. “We’ve been working on that all week, but the only reason they won that game is because of our mistakes. We dominated that game”.
 
Manwarring pointed to the team’s control of the puck as a silver lining but admitted that critical turnovers were the difference.
 
“You looked at the puck possession stats, and we’re in front. I think we owned that game for the most part, but they capitalised on our mistakes and that’s part of the game,” he said. “You can’t make major mistakes and turn the puck over too much, especially against the Ice because they’ve got guys that will capitalise – and they did that tonight”.
 
Head Coach Kevin Noble reaffirmed the captain’s frustration, acknowledging the team’s strong effort but lamenting the breakdowns that led to the loss.
 
“The first period, we were really good. 2-0 lead was an excellent period,” Noble said. “Second period we were on the puck a lot and had a lot of zone time, but we were on the perimeter. Third period we were really good, but the game wasn’t ours. Guys that know better, mismanaged puck.” 
 
Melbourne punished Newcastle with a short-handed goal and took full advantage of the Northstars’ inability to convert on the man advantage, swinging the momentum in the visitors’ favour during a pivotal second period.
 
“We lost on the special teams battles tonight” Noble added. “We got scored on short-handed, then we lost the game – and that’s not what we do. We had a lot of pace at play.”
 
“We were really good, and sometimes you lose games like that. The effort was there, we proved that we’re a top team in this league.”
 
The Northstars will have a break allowing them to re-group in preparation for the next home game on Saturday 21^st of June at Hunter Ice Stadium playing Melbourne Mustangs followed by a Sunday game on the 22^nd of June playing Perth Thunder.
 
Tickets are available at http://northstars.thundertix.com/.