Northstars faced Melbourne Challenge

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The Escadia Newcastle Northstars split their weekend in Melbourne, coming home with three points from their travels. The Northstars were defeated 6-8 against the Melbourne Ice on Saturday night, but rallied the next night against the Melbourne Mustangs on Sunday afternoon with an 8-5 win.
 
On Saturday night, against a dominant Melbourne Ice, momentum was disrupted with penalties going both ways, but the ejection of the Ice’s Ishida changed the game for Newcastle, with Melbourne’s backup goalie taking the net.
 
Newcastle was behind for periods one and two, but four goals in the third period would put the visitors ahead 6-5.
 
“Saturday night, we had a great opening shift,” began Head Coach Kevin Noble, “Spending about a minute in their end, then the puck comes down our end and we are very passive, we don’t get a stop defensively, and they capitalise. You can’t start periods that way, is the moral of the story. We looked like we were still on the plane.”
 
“It’s almost impossible to feel good when you go down, and it’s difficult to claw back. After the first and second, we had a big reset. It was good. I think our group showed a lot of character to get back into the hockey game.”
 
“We did enough to deserve more out of that game, but you can’t start that way and expect to win, and we only have ourselves to blame. We have had more than enough time to learn our lessons, and it is time to ace the tests.”
 
When the Ice equalised 6-6, Newcastle took the risk to pull their goalie for a man advantage to try and get one back, but the Ice would capitalise and take the win.
 
“When you’re down one goal and you need to score, as a coach, you recognise the analytics and the feel of the game indicates that realistically you need to get another guy on the ice to get a goal to tie the game. Against a good team like that, you’re not going to score with five on five.”
 
“To get a puck into the offensive zone, to win a battle and to recover the puck, you’re going to need an extra guy to outnumber and win that battle. Sometimes other teams make great plays and get a shot or an empty net goal, but the reality is, if we lose by one or lose by two, it’s still a loss, right?     ”
 
On Sunday afternoon, Newcastle bounced back and came out flying. Three unanswered goals in the first period would give them an early lead, with two more in period two to hold it despite the Mustangs’ push back, scoring two of their own. Going into the third, Newcastle had a 5-2 lead and pushed out to 6 at the start of the third period.
 
Mustangs fought back with three goals, making it 6-5 late in the game. In a bid to equalise, they pulled their goalie. Newcastle would steal the puck in a two-on-one, securing an empty net goal and the 7^th for the visitors, who would get one more to seal the victory.
 
“On Sunday we showed more character and elements of resolve and I was really impressed with the way we played, it’s a quick turnaround in that barn to go from the night before to 2 pm the next day and it’s not easy,” continued Coach Noble, “We showed the resolve to win that game and got ourselves off this losing streak.”
 
“Our forward group played really well this weekend. We need to improve our defensive play and goaltending collectively as a team, with more consistency throughout our group. From there we can stabilise and play better.”
 
Northstars will carry this momentum back home on the 12^th and 13^th July when they face the Brisbane Lightning for a double header at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium.
 
Be a part of the action and get your tickets at northstars.thundertix.com