It was a tough weekend for Newcastle Northstars fans as Melbourne Ice took 3 points on Saturday night with a 7-1 win in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL).

Ice came out firing with three goals to Lliam Webster, Mackenzie Caruana and Austin McKenzie in the opening period, setting the tone and pace of the game.

Ice captain, Caruana, was proud of how his team stepped up sharing, “We played hard right from the start, we got up early in the game and kept the foot on it and threw them off their game.”

“This is the first time, personally, that I’ve won in this barn in five years,” Caruana continued, “they got pretty physical towards the end, but for the most part, we did a pretty good job of keeping our heads and trying to keep scoring goals and building our lead.”

Austin Albrecht was the sole goal scorer of period two, securing his second of three points of the game. He was on his way to a record-breaking run to become the fastest to 100 points, which he would accomplish on Sunday against the Bears.

With so many penalties in the second and third periods, the momentum and flow of the game changed dramatically. Amongst the standard hooks, trips and interference calls, the game’s tension got the better of the two teams, with players sent off and special teams the focus.

Caruana stated, “I thought we controlled the game pretty well, but we still had some lapses, and they had some good chances. We’re happy, but we’re not satisfied; we want to have a good run this year, and that’s what we’re building towards.”

On the penalties in periods two and three [88 minutes in total], Caruana shared, “I’ve played plenty of games like that, and you’ve just got to ride the waves.

“It’s really an emotional game, so we had to go into the room and calm down a bit. Sometimes, you don’t get the calls you want; that’s hockey.

“The main thing is just not staying in that red zone for too long, its just getting back quickly to where we need to be and get focused and do what we have to do.”

Head Coach Kerry Goulet reflected on the penalties throughout the game and what he can take away to keep building on to generate a successful season and shared, “Our discipline. Giving Newcastle credit, they knew the only way they could get back in this game was to get us off our game.

“We need to come together as a team because when you stay as a team, it’s not individuals. That dressing room is probably the strongest room I’ve ever been in, including some of the championship teams I’ve played for.

“We can’t take everything too high and can’t take anything too low. If we stay at even keel, we’ll come out on top”

“We started off dead,” reflected Northstars forward Daniel Berno. “We didn’t come out of the gate fast, and they capitalised on us. When we came out in the second, we had some fight in us. We’re a family. We win together, we lose together, and we’re there for each other. It’s a long season, so don’t count us out right now.”

Berno was the lone scorer for the Northstars in the third period, with three goals for Roman Kraemer, Jeff Solow and Albrecht to secure the Ice’s victory.

“I was in the right place at the right time,” shared Berno on his goal, “it stemmed from everyone on the ice. I crashed the net, the puck came to my stick, and that’s what I’m here for. I’ve got to score goals and as many as possible.”

“The game was lost in the first period,” began Northstars head coach Kevin Noble, “you’ve got to decide if you want to be a hockey player. If any team thinks they can play hockey the way we played in the first period, they’re wrong. I thought second and third period we showed up, we competed, and we laid it on the line, but it’s too late.”

Noble reflected on the lack of energy in the first period, sharing, “We didn’t execute anything we wanted to. Didn’t get to the net, didn’t block any shots, lost wall battles, lost net front battles. We have to do a lot differently moving forward, and they have to decide if they want to play hockey.”

Another win for the in-form Melbourne Ice team showcased to the Newcastle fans why they have been so successful this season.

Goulet looked at some positives that contributed to the win, “Obviously, having Joey Hughes and Lliam Webster in our dressing room makes a huge difference; these two are veterans that know exactly what to do and when to do it. They calm everyone down.”

“Tatsu (Ishida) has been absolutely, truly amazing,” Goulet continued, “and I think our team speed along with how determined we are works, and we’re just going to get better.

“It seems the more we play together, the more determined we are to hoist the Goodall Cup. We’ve still got a long way to go, but it certainly looks good.”

“I would say this is the fastest game we’ve played, and certainly Newcastle were on us all the time, so I think the difference between our team right now, watching all the teams we’ve played, is our speed.

“It’s difficult to keep that rhythm when you’re always going to the penalty box or on a power play, and the only person that’s going to beat us right at this particular moment is ourselves.”

Next weekend the Northstars will play the Bears in Sydney on Saturday 15^th June and the Rhinos at home on Sunday 16^th June.

Melbourne Ice will play a derby at home on Friday 14^th June and against Sydney Ice dogs at home on Saturday 15^th June.