This Sunday, March 14, the Aussie Youth Team will take on a mixed team, mostly made up of members from the Australian Senior Men's Team.

The youth Team will travel to Kiev in the Ukraine and the men's team will travel to Mexico City two weeks later.

Former North Stars forward Pier Martin is the youth team’s coach.

2010 will be Pier's third year running the team, who were relegated out o f Division II in 2008 but easily accounted for Gold in Division III in 2009.

Two days later, on Tuesday, March 16 at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, the youth team will face their second test, the North Stars’ Youngbloods.

North Stars juniors Matt Mitcherson and Josh Broekman are preparing for the trip of a lifetime when the two join the Australian Youth Team to Kiev.

Mitcherson is a forward and Broekman a goaltender.

Both have represented NSW several times, and Broekman has gone so far as to be backup goalie several times for the AIHL North Stars.

In other news, a North Stars icon in Ray Sheffield has announced that he is hanging up his skates.

Sheffield, who immigrated to Australia from Canada in 2000, was part of the inception North Stars team that won the NSW Senior B competition in 2001, and the original AIHL team of 2002. In 2003 Ray was given the captaincy, a position he held for seven seasons.

During his captaincy, the North Stars won four national championships and two minor premierships, and never failed to make a Grand Final game.

Ray has no desire to leave the North Stars organisation, however, taking on the role of assistant coach under Don Champagne this season.

Assistant coach from the past two seasons, Steve Linsday has taken on his preferred role of head coach of the North Stars junior teams.

The AIHL’s Inski North Stars will start their 2010 season on April 24 at 5pm on home ice at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium.