A dominant performance from the Perth Thunder has seen them take a big 5-1 win over the Newcastle Northstars at Perth Ice Arena on Sunday.

Ben Breault scored two goals in a game dominated by the Thunder imports, with a goal to Jessyko Bernard, three assists to Christian Ouellet and a strong performance from net minder Peter Di Salvo.

The Northstars mustered some momentum late, posting 19 shots in the third period, however the Thunder produced a strong offensive performance in their third regulation win over Newcastle this season, and Thunder coach Dave Ruck was pleased with his team’s performance.

“It really puts us in a good place in terms of the ladder” Ruck said. “It was really good to see we had all lines contributing and we’re starting to get a bit of chemistry happening now.”

The physical nature of the game was established from the outset with both the Thunder and Northstars applying some consistent pressure early.

The home team hit the scoreboard first with a Ben Breault goal the result of a strong Thunder offensive passage of play, and they soon found themselves 2-0 up after Breault found the back of the net once again.

The Thunder dominated possession throughout the second half of the period and added a third goal to their tally late in the period thanks to Jessyko Bernard, taking a three-goal lead into the first intermission.

The Northstars began the second with some renewed energy, applying some strong offensive pressure throughout the first half of the period, but the Thunder responded with some physical play and some strong end to end hockey.

After a Hamish Powell took a four-minute elbowing penalty, an immense amount of pressure from the Thunder power play unit resulted in a goal to Per Daniel Goransson  to put the Thunder up 4-0 at the end of the second period.

The Northstars began the third period on the power play and certainly put Thunder Di Salvo to work early in the period with some big opportunities.

The physicality of the game stepped up as the Northstars’ top line did everything they could to crack the Thunder defence, and Felix-Antoine Poulin broke the shutout bid with a power play goal in the final four minutes, which brought a nervous hush to the game.

However the home side did not rest on their laurels, as Jonathon Bremner tallied the Thunder’s fifth goal of the night off a well timed wrist shot to seal a 5-1 win.

The Thunder now look ahead to their home series against the Melbourne Ice in Perth on June 10-11, while the Northstars will face off in their next game against the Melbourne Mustangs on June 10 at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium.

Photos by Corey Lunt