TWO wins for the Newcastle North Stars on the weekend has seen the defending Australian Ice Hockey League champions regain third position on the ladder.
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The six points gained from the wins against Sydney Ice Dogs come after a rocky mid-season for the North Stars, where they had lost five of its six previous games before the weekend.
“We had a really good start to the season but lost our way a little with the change in personnel and lines, but it feels like we’ve found our rhythm again,” North Stars coach Andrew Petrie said.
“We’re more consistent and performing well right across the board.”
Newcastle import Josh Harris made his presence known in Saturday’s game at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium.
Harris sniped three goals and played a big part in the North Stars' crucial 5-1 victory against the Ice Dogs.
On Sunday, in Liverpool, it was North Stars import Scott Swiston who scored three goals to help deliver a 5-2 win for Newcastle.
Fellow import Connor McLaughlin scored four goals across the weekend, cementing his lead as the league’s leading goal scorer this season.
While hesitant to call the weekend’s wins a return to form, Petrie said they were crucial to ensuring the North Stars stayed in contention for the AIHL Finals which will be contested on the last weekend of August.
“One of the things in this league is that it becomes evident that teams are going to miss the playoffs when there's still a lot of hockey to play,” Petrie said.
“We just hope that the powers that be are aware that as a team battling for a playoff spot we're going to be as disciplined as we possibly can.
“We're confident that on any given night we can beat any team in the league. But we also know that if we're off our game a little bit, we're vulnerable to be beaten. It's business time now.”
The North Stars face Canberra Brave on Saturday, July 2, in the nation’s capital and return home for Sunday, July 3, to face Sydney Bears at HISS.