Team | GP | W | L | OTW | OTL | CP | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adrenaline | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Lightning | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Brave | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rhinos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Northstars | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Player | Points |
---|---|
Connor Bolger (CCR) | 0 |
Mackenzie Bolger (CCR) | 0 |
Estefano Bonfante (CCR) | 0 |
Jack Buffey (CCR) | 0 |
North Stars go 2-from-2 in Perth |
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A Scott Swiston snipe was all that separated the Newcastle North Stars from the Perth Thunder on Sunday, as the defending champions took all three points from an entertaining 2-1 win at Perth Ice Arena. Swiston was able to leap to intercept a Rob Haselhurst clearance from the zone, quickly take the puck to his stick and snipe a shot over the glove of Thomas Heemskerk to give Newcastle the lead for the first time with just under eight minutes remaining in the third period. It was a moment that Thunder Head Coach Dave Kenway says Haselhurst would rather forget. “I think he (Haselhurst) will have nightmares over that one,” Kenway said. “I have specifically spoken to him about it, it happens, and we just have to move forward, he will learn from it”. Newcastle defenceman John Kennedy Jr. was pleased with the results of the weekend’s play, and the style of play the North Stars were able to employ. “It feels great, especially first week of the season, it’s always tough on the road and coming to Perth to come away with any points let alone five,” Kennedy said. “(We were happy with) the discipline of our play, making sure we were not getting overly aggressive and making sure we have that third guy high in every situation, our forwards did a great job tracking pucks in both games.” Thunder import winger Ben Breault opened the scoring in the game, after David Kudla found Michael Dorr on the breakout, who made a great play on the wall to find Breault in the slot, who sniped his second goal in as many games. The scored stayed 1-0 Thunder until early in the third period, when Tim Stanger pounced on a rare rebound in front of Thomas Heemskerk to tie the scores 1-1. Kenway said it was the play of his import goaltender that gave the Thunder a fighting chance on Sunday. “The goalie has stood on his head this weekend for us,” Kenway said. “He was a great signing and we’re very happy with his effort. It was awesome to see, he made some really good saves.” Swiston was widely considered the best player of the weekend and teammate Kennedy was full of praise for the power forward. “For a defenceman, it’s the best thing [having Swiston on your team]; you can keep a good gap knowing that there’s pressure on the back check,” Kennedy said. “He tracks pucks pretty well, he takes the body, he’s not afraid of the physical game, and down low he makes smart plays.” Thunder coach Dave Kenway was left to lament the play of his team, particularly on the breakout, that left the Thunder with one point in the standings after consecutive one-goal losses. “It was the unforced errors, the guys fell back into old habits that we’ve been trying to beat out of them all pre season and just made rookie errors that they wouldn’t usually make,” Kenway said. “They started playing an individual game and it showed; Newcastle walked all over us.” Defence from both sides had a solid weekend, with just seven goals scored in the two games, and John Kennedy Jr. credited the North Stars’ ability to break up plays at the blue line for the two wins. “As a team that’s what we want to do, we want to force a play, make them dump it in or make some type of play at the blue line and have some type of back check pressure to get the loose pucks,” Kennedy said. The Thunder have a week off before taking on the Melbourne Mustangs at Perth Ice Arena on May 7, while the North Stars return home for a grand final rematch against the Melbourne Ice on May 1. |
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Contact Information
Australian Ice Hockey League Ltd
Level 1
7 Lonsdale Street
Braddon, Australian Capital Territory
2612 Australia
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