Northstars’ secure clean sheet at home

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The Escadia Newcastle Northstars defeated the Perth Thunder 4-0 on Saturday evening at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium in a strong showing from the team as they edge toward finals.
 
Charlie Smart securing a clean sheet in front of a full home crowd was the star of the game. Fans showed their appreciation, chanting his name at the end of the game, acknowledging the great game. Head Coach Kevin Noble shared his thoughts on Smart: “Charlie was good tonight. That’s the best game of his season. He did exactly what we needed him to do; he controlled the pucks, long shots and there weren’t a lot of rebounds.”
 
“Our guys that were in front of him were really good, they (Perth) didn’t get a lot of zone time and they didn’t have a lot of second and third looks. He didn’t have to make a bunch of scrambling plays. He controlled the puck, he got the stops and the whistles, and he smothered the pucks when they came to him.”
 
A tense, scoreless first period saw both teams come out firing in the second. It would be Newcastle’s Kim Tallberg who would break the deadlock and secure the sole goal of the period, putting the Northstars ahead.
 
“I thought our start was a little bit casual, and then that felt like a playoff game. It was really fast all night, the fans were really loud which got us over the line,” shared Captain Liam Manwarring.
 
“I thought we started a little bit sort of lazy, a bit casual, and we weren’t happy with that as a team. We wanted to have a little more presence in our game. We adjusted in the second with the powerplay to start and we got one in,” reflected Noble.
 
Manwarring shared, “Our big boys stood up when they needed to and I think everyone played their part, and all I can say is we had some really good goaltending tonight,”
 
Noble continued, “Our guys have really started to work through some of our earlier struggles in the season where we would maybe not find a way to score. I thought it was a hell of a job by a lot of our guys and Charlie was great.”
 
“Charlie got the hard hat for a reason. It’s the best game he’s played all season and what a time to play your best game. It’s a building block to get to finals. We’re on four in a row right now, and Charlie really stepped up tonight,” finished Manwarring
 
In the third, Riley Klugerman would secure the next goal for the home team. With a player in the box, Klugerman, on a short-handed breakaway, steamed through the Perth defence for the first goal of the period, and just one minute later, Wehebe Darge would make it three for the home team.
 
End-to-end play for the remainder of the period would see both teams chasing opportunities, but Perth was unable to find the goal. With an empty net at the other end of the ice, Ethan Hawes would score the Northstars’ fourth and final goal of the game with 9 seconds to go.
 
“We set the tone, we set the pace and that’s all we need to do at the back end of the season,” Manwarring commented on the game. ”And, as I keep saying, it’s always at the back end of the year that teams succeed to get to the top, and we’re doing that right now.”
 
Reflecting on the game and looking ahead to the run to finals, Noble shared: “The confidence in the group is there. We’ve won four in a row, we know we’re a good team, we know we’re right there and competing for second place in the standings now. We know where we feel we are and we’re getting there and we know we’re a team to be reckoned with.”
 
Newcastle are on the road to Melbourne to face the Ice on the 26^th and Mustangs on the 27^th July.
 
They will be in Erina Sat 2^nd August.
 
Returning home for their final game of the season on the 9^th August.