Northstars Derby Victory at Home!
The Newcastle Northstars have been victorious at home on Saturday night against the Central Coast Rhinos, winning 8-4 in a close match. Period 3 resulted in 7 of the total 12 goals of the game.
QUOTES:
Head Coach Kevin Noble –
“We are happy with the three points, and that’s the goal at the end of the day – winning. There were some good things that we cleaned up tonight and some elements of our game that looked really good for the most part.”
“There were some lapses in some detail that were missed, and it wasn’t pretty, but it was good enough for tonight, and we have to keep working.”
(Rhinos goaltender Andrew Masters) “was great tonight, and Charlie is just as good. Rhinos have added to their line-up, which has helped, and we can see where there is room for improvement in our game.”
“I think we can clean up our D zone, and I think we can continue to be a bit more clinical on our finishing around the net and I think we can work on our detail in our neutral zone structure and forecheck to anticipate more plays and opportunities”
“Next weekend is a big weekend for us at home, as Brisbane is gritty, and they know how to compete. I know they will bring two competitive and solid hockey games. We will have a lot on our hands so we have to turn our mind to being ready for that big home series.”
On our special event game vs Saint John’s University “they’re going to have a lot of pace to their game and they’re going to have a lot of structure and skill. For a lot of guys on our team we won’t have seen a lot of that style throughout our playing careers and we expect them to be a very good team and we will have to be at our best.”
Tim Stanger - Forward
Tonight was Tim Stanger’s birthday and in the final minute of the third period he scored a goal to seal the 8 goal win over the Rhinos – “We worked hard and they came out flying, and we had to live our game and adjust to it. I loved every minute of tonights game and it was great to get a goal, 100% one of my best games to date.”
Francis Drolet – Forward (scored a hattrick)
“The Rhinos are definitely getting better, they came out with some new players and they were very strong, making it a close game. We can’t take them lightly and we had to work to maintain pace to stay ahead of them”
“We had to lift for the full 60 minutes, and with a lot of penalties it makes it tricky. We want to work on our PK but im not sure that we wanted to work on it that much. There were some moments of the game that just got away from us and its all stuff to work on.”
“When I play I don’t really think about my personal stats, I just really like scoring in front of the home crowd and getting the boys fired up on the bench, and I know it helps to get a couple of goals and that lead makes everyone relax, and then we make better plays.”
Tanner Butler – New import
“Launching into my first game with a new team with a goal feels good. Aussies have all made me feel so welcome, which made it easier to step on the ice, and the home crowd is simply unbelievable. I came in thinking that Australia is not a big hockey country, but the fans here in Newcastle are remarkable, and its always great to play in front of a crowd like that.”
