Perth Thunder travelled to Newcastle to face the Northstars on Sunday night in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) and came away with an overtime win thanks to Rob Haselhurst.

This is an important win for the Thunder as they continue to make improvements week to week, focusing on the details in their hockey game as they battle for points in the Hellyer conference.

Perth Captain Jamie Woodman reflected on the success of the game, sharing, “Overall, we’re playing pretty good. We’re playing a good style of hockey, but it was those small mistakes that were letting us down. When it’s small mistakes, you can change it; it’s just attention to detail.”

Following a tough night in Sydney against the Bears, the Thunder knew that despite Newcastle being hit with injuries, they would face a tight and tough game when they travelled to Hunter Ice Skating Stadium.

“I think the guys regrouped pretty well for today’s game,” began Perth player and coach Ben Breault, “we know that Newcastle is a bit depleted at the moment with injuries, but we know that they would come out hard, and we always know that will get the crowd going which is very exciting for us as a visiting team.”

Newcastle came out the gate on Sunday night with speed and fresh energy, setting the pace, creating a very fast, end-to-end game.

Newcastle would score first with a late powerplay goal. Kyler Matthews would get the home team on the board with a powerful shot from the blue line with 10 seconds left before the first intermission.

Period two was just as exciting, with both teams creating opportunities. Thunders Yu Hikosaka’s goal with a mere 1.42 minutes remaining proved to be the game-changer, scoring the shorthanded goal going into the second intermission.

A scoreless third period meant we would go to overtime and Haselhurst would be the hero for the Thunder. Deflecting the puck past Northstars goaltender Charlie Smart to take his team to a 2-1 victory.

Woodman shared his thoughts on Haselhurst and his impact on the team: “I love Rob. He’s an absolute hero. He sets the tone for our team energy-wise. When he’s buzzing, the whole team is flying.

“So, to have him playing well drives us up to another level, which I thought was really good.”

Stopping 51 of 53 shots on goal Northstars goaltender Smart shut the door on the Thunder, almost singlehandedly dragging Newcastle across the line in a tight contest.

“For a goalie to make 50 saves in this league, so kudos to him,” shared Breault.

Northstars are down but not out

“We’ve got to clean a lot of areas up,” shared Northstars Head Coach Kevin Noble, reflecting on what Newcastle needs to focus on moving forward.

“And get more from a lot of guys. Motivation, compete and expectations on how you battle through hard times is something you’ve got to find on your own. Coaching staff can’t go out and do it for the guys, so they’ve got to dig deep.”

“The first period was better tonight,” agreed Noble comparing the Northstars start vs Melbourne Ice on Saturday night.

“We came ready to go, but right now, it’s a little bit of a struggle offensively. However, it was a good bounce back (from last night).

“We’re going to need more saves and generate more offensively going forward into next weekend.”

With 53 shots on Smart by Perth, Northstars Assistant Captain Francis Drolet shared, “There were a lot of shots on goal tonight against Charlie, and he kept us in that game.

“It was one of his best games this year, and he looked solid; nobody was stressed in front of him.”

Reflecting on what Newcastle needs to build on for next weekend, Drolet said, “Just like the first period, we need to always be hungry for the puck, keep battling, and it’s going to come. We’ll keep working on our systems and details.”

Playing in front of the home fans “makes a massive difference,” shared Drolet. “You get [that] extra gear and the wind in your back when you’re skating and try to make those extra plays for the fans.

“We’re still at the top of the table right now, so we’re doing something right; we just have to stay on top.”

Looking at how to approach next weekend, “Right now, we’re going to have to keep competing. The second half of the hockey season is like anything; the margin becomes small, and wall battles and net front battles become more important.

“It’s the littlest of margins that win, and when you’re making mental errors and getting scored on in a power play, you can’t win with that.”

As we go into the second half of the season, Noble shared, “It’s night and day from the first half to the back half of the season. It’s so competitive, and the margins become small. Every team is neck and neck.

“The ice becomes tighter, guys are in midseason form, and players are executing at a higher level.

“Right now, we’re just a little bit off our mark on all those things right now; we’ve got to keep pushing here and finding ways to grind out.”

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