The Newcastle Northstars will be keen to iron out the bugs ahead of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) play-offs after a mixed weekend.
Following a surprise 6-5 loss to the Sydney Bears at home on Saturday, the Kevin Noble-coached outfit demolished a depleted Central Coast Rhinos 18-5 on the road 24 hours later.
With Newcastle hosting a final at the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium later this month, time is running out for the local side to finetune its game before the business end of the season.
In the first showdown, the Northstars led 3-2 after two periods, courtesy of goals to Daniel Berno, Josh Adkins and Tanner Butler.
Berno’s second and another to Riley Klugerman extended that margin to 5-3, when Ryan Annesley pulled one back for Sydney.
But, the Bears weren’t finished.
Annesley and Timothy Newmark locked the match up at 5-all and, then, with 33 seconds remaining, Marc McNulty snared the winner.
“We’ve got to be better,” Newcastle’s hometown captain Liam Manwarring said.
“I thought our start was good [on Saturday], which has been something we’ve struggled with.
“So, I thought we improved on that.
“However, just like in Brisbane, we blew the lead and need to learn how to play with that advantage.
“We’ll now work on a couple of things pretty quickly, especially as we head into finals.”
It was a better performance on the Sunday.
With Central Coast missing several import players, who headed overseas for pre-season training, the Northstars took advantage of the situation.
Newcastle raced to a 6-2 lead, via a hat-trick to Zane Jones, a double to Klugerman, and a single to Francis Drolet.
Further goals to Jones (three), Klugerman, Adkins, Butler and Manwarring pushed the visitors ahead 13-3.
Jones capped a brilliant match with his seventh of the afternoon, with Klugerman and Manwarring adding to their tallies, and Berno and Riley Tonks putting their names on the score sheet.
“That win was important for us,” the skipper said.
“I think we played well and it’s a good confidence-builder.
“We have a bit to do as a unit, and individually, to get ready for the CBR Brave.
“Finals and places are locked in now, but that doesn’t mean anything.
“It’s about momentum and really sending a message to show that we can win.”
The Northstars host a play-off fixture on 19 August.
“It is going to be massive for us,” Manwarring said.
“The crowd is like a seventh player on the ice… and we owe them more than what they’ve seen in the past couple of weeks.
“We need to take what we’ve learnt and turn it around.
“I believe we have the team to win this year; we just need to improve on a few more things.”
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