The Newcastle North Stars remain undefeated after taking out the Melbourne Mustangs in a 4:3 battle at the Medibank Icehouse Saturday night.

The Melbourne team struggled to find their feet while the North Stars came out blazing for their first Victorian match of the season. 

Not intimidated by an overwhelming number Mustangs fans who flooded the Icehouse to cheer on their team, the North Stars made quick work dominating the first.

Taking advantage of any hesitation, they smashed out three unanswered goals on the Mustangs within the first period, in an eerie reversal of Melbourne’s previous game against a New South Wales competitor. Import, Luke Moffatt, cemented the North Stars’ lead, landing a goal off a juicy rebound.

Two penalty kills for the Mustangs only encouraged the North Stars, with Moffatt and Matt Lindsay  seizing the moment to land a couple of power play goals while Mustangs Matt Stringer and Joey Hughes sat out their time.  

Andrew Petrie, head coach of the North Stars, voiced his pride at securing an “exceptional” lead against a championship winning team.

“To come on the road and get the jump on the home team like that,” he said. “I was very, very happy with the way we played the first period.”

The Mustangs don’t give up easily and returned to the ice after the break, revved up and ready to take back their own after a disastrous start.

The Mustangs’ comeback, led by their third line – Andrew Belic, Tom Voller, Matt Stringer and Vadim Virjassov – provided the right amount of pressure against the North Stars’ top line and took plenty of chances to even out the scores. Michael James, replacing Fraser Carson in the 2^nd period, proved he could slow down the opposition, blocking a fast and ambitious shot from Moffatt.

“[Michael] James did a great job stepping in,” Mustangs’ coach, Brad Vigon, said. “He made a huge save. We scored shortly after that so it really was a momentum changer for us.”

“They showed us what they’re made of,” Andrew Petrie said of the Mustangs’ swift comeback. “They came at us wave after wave.”

Both teams played fast and fierce, the puck flying from offensive to defensive zones in moments.

However, despite a strong second period and mounting pressure to score the equaliser in a relentless third, the Mustangs fell short of facing the North Stars in a shootout.  

While savouring the night’s win, tomorrow is a brand new fight and Andrew Petrie is realistic about going head-to-head with the Melbourne Ice.

“Every time you get a win –that’s three in a row for us now – you get a bit of confidence ... but the Ice are a different team, a very different style of play,” Petrie said. “Tomorrow morning we will start talking about tomorrow.”

The Newcastle North Stars have little time to rest and recover, returning to the Medibank Icehouse on Sunday the 3^rd to face the Melbourne Ice at 4pm. Meanwhile, the Mustangs have a two week break to prepare for the CBR Brave, 5.30pm on their home turf, the Phillip Swimming and Ice Skating Centre.