Saturday night saw hockey finally return to Hunter Ice Skating Stadium with our pre-season exhibition game, and our team put on a show that the jam-packed crowd came to see.

Defeating the Sydney Bears 7-6 the Northstars gave us everything we could have hoped for, including rookie Cam Hughes scoring 2 goals on his debut with the team.

“I never thought this experience would ever happen”, Hughes reflected “It’s pretty good to get two goals on my debut. I was pretty nervous, but the boys got around me, and calmed me down and it felt like a normal game”

Assistant coach Amelia Matheson shared, “I’m so proud. He barely shows emotion. Inside I think he’s exploding but he’s quite reserved and I could tell he was taking it all in as I handed him his first puck. As a coach, the thrill it gives me in that moment of celebration is so rewarding to see (the work we do) payoff”

Throughout the game the Northstars suffered a number of penalty kills but stood strong, in the second period, scoring 3 goals within 3 minutes lifted the team and the atmosphere in the crowd.

“It’s the best feeling to have the whole team back together, and for Liam Manwarring to come back and score that first goal, it was great” shared defenseman, Ethan Hawes.

With the energy brewing, the fans got to watch a few fiery moments unfold leading to ejections, but our Northstars maintained composure right to the end. Daniel Berno with two goals in the third period, helped cement our victory over the visitors.

“The win feels great”, shared assistant coach Amelia Matheson, “well deserved after all the chaos. The boys reset and kept pushing through. I was happy with the composure on the bench and could see and feel everyone just wanted to get the job done.”

Looking ahead to the rest of the season Ethan Hawes shared “You can’t get complacent with your game, you need to keep developing to the next level. The key is to be obsessed with this game to keep growing, I’m really excited for this season. I think we’re going to do great things”.

The Northstars face the Sydney Bears at Macquarie Ice Rink for the second of the two exhibition games on April 23^rd.