The CBR Brave defeated the Newcastle North Stars 5-4 in a shootout on the back of Kelly Geoffrey’s second straight hat-trick at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium on Sunday night.

Despite the home side coming home strong with four third period goals, North Stars coach Andrew Petrie was disappointed with the result.

“The first period left a lot to be desired,” Petrie said. “From there on in they showed a lot of character. A huge amount of character was displayed and they should be applauded for the level it took for them to come back, but they should also be disappointed that they had to do it in the first place.”

Both teams were trying to build momentum in the first but it took until 25 seconds before Geoffrey flew through the North Stars defence, scoring shorthanded for the Brave and putting them 1-0 ahead at the first break.

In the opening minutes of the second period, Petrie said the North Stars showed some spark.

However, midway through the period, goals to Jordan Gavin and Geoffrey extended the Brave’s lead to 3-0.

Assisted by Geoffrey, Gavin made his way through a three-on-one attack to find the back of the net, shortly followed by Geoffrey’s second goal of the night, a controversial goal with conjecture over whether the puck crossed the line.

Nonetheless, the Brave were cruising at 3-0 after two periods.

It was time for the North Stars to step up. By the time there was 10 minutes remaining in the third period, the scores were locked up.

Brave coach Brad Hunt said at 3-0 after two, the Brave though they’d be heading home with all three points.

“We are disappointed that we let them back in after being 3-0 up,” Hunt said. “We have to be tougher in front of our own net. They took a number of opportunities right on our doorstep, so we have to clean up our own zone and make sure they don’t get those point blank opportunities.”

Point scoring leader Geordie Wudrick claimed two of the goals, pouncing on a cross from Luke Moffatt for the first and Robert Malloy for the second, either side of Matt Wetini’s goal, his second in as many games.

With scores locked at 3-all, the North Stars continued to push hard but mistakes let the Brave back in.

The Brave regained the lead through Geoffrey’s treble, completing his second straight hat-trick pulling the Brave ahead at 4-3.

It lasted only 30 seconds before Beau Taylor found the back of the net to level the score at 4-4, as it would remain until the end of regular time, sending the game to a shootout.

Although Geoffrey was unable to convert his opportunity, Scott Pitt and Kyle Mariani scored their attempts, while neither North Star shot was converted.

The crowd was active throughout the game and despite not claiming the win, Petrie was thankful for the vocal home support.

“The fans here are awesome,” Petrie said. “On behalf of the entire playing group, coaches and managers I want to thank them for that profusely. It’s really like having a sixth person out there when you play in front of people who have paid money to see you do what you do, and then they’re that vocal and that passionate, it is absolutely helpful so thank you to everyone.”

The North Stars head down to Sydney next Saturday to play the Sydney Bears, while the Brave head home to take the Brave on in a double header.