North Stars hold off Bears comeback

The Newcastle North Stars claimed a 4-3 victory over the the Sydney Bears at the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium on Saturday night, the Bears’ first loss in the 2015 Wilson Cup.

A big crowd witnessed the game, with a generous mix of North Stars and Bears supporters throughout the grandstand.

Within the first minutes of the game, shots were fired at the goalkeepers at either end, getting the game off to a heated start.

The North Stars dominated the first period with the majority of possession in the attacking zone putting plenty of pressure on to claim the opening goal.

However, they couldn’t break the defences of Bears goalie Dale Burgess.

It took until the final moments of the period for the Bears to get their best scoring chance for the period with Dayne Davis making two quick saves before the sound of the buzzer brought the period to a scoreless end.

A few minutes into the second period, returning Sydney Bears import Tomas Landa teamed up with captain Michael Schlamp to kick off the scoring.

The goal saw the North Stars step up in defence with Davis blocking some close shots between the pipes.

It took until four minutes from the end of the second for the North Stars to even up the scoring when home-grown youngster Hayden Sheard brought the home crowd to their feet.

Early in the third, the run of play was with the North Stars with Sheard completing a well-deserved hat-trick; his third period goals split by one to Brian Bales to give the home side a 4-1 lead.

Success breeds confidence and the undefeated Bears weren’t about to lay down and accept the loss without a fight.

With two minutes remaining, Richard Tesarik claimed his second goal for the tournament, before Ryan Strayer made it 4-3 with just 50 seconds left in the game.

It set up a tense final minute but the full time siren came as a relief to the North Stars and their fans as they booked a place in the Wilson Cup final.

North Stars coach Andrew Petrie was pleased with the result and the way his team played.

“The first two periods were very good,” Petrie said. “The structure and defence was good; it is what we have been working on.

“When we got up 4-1, I think we got complacent and that cost us some goals. I have no disappointments for where we are at.”

Sydney Bears coach Vlad Rubes said he knew it would be a tough game although he was pleased about the number of chances the Bears created.

“(We) knew it wouldn’t be easy”, Rubes said. “Unfortunately, those three quick goals put them ahead and cost us in the end.”

Bears captain Michael Schlamp echoed Rubes’ sentiments, saying “the boys showed a lot of character fighting back."

The two teams will meet again in the Wilson Cup final next Saturday April 18 at the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium. The puck should drop at 5pm although we are still waiting for confirmation.