Newcastle Northstars comeback not enough as Sydney Bears win 4-3 in overtime

A third period comeback wasn’t enough for the Northstars on Saturday, going down 4-3 against the Sydney Bears in Overtime in their second match-up of the year.

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The Bears had their first game at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium since they won the Goodall Cup in the same building in 2019, the last time the Australian Ice Hockey League ran in its full national-league format.

Both teams had plenty of youth in their lineup, and it was youth that featured on the scoresheet with the majority of goals scored by rookie players.

After a strong start, the Northstars took a first minute 1-0 lead thanks to David Jeremy, a call-up from NSW’s East Coast Super League, a feeder league for the three NSW-based AIHL teams.

The Bears replied with a goal by Ellesse Carini, with the period ending 1 goal each.

The second period belonged to the Bears, with Thomas Steven and debutante Callum Wardlaw putting the Bears ahead 3-1. Coach John Kennedy called for the team to win the one-on-one battles, and his team answered, with increased energy and compete paying dividends, with Jeremy scoring his second and Hunter Ellen joining the rookie goal rush, and bringing the local crowd to their feet.

A tense 8 minutes followed without score, requiring overtime to break the 3 all tie. The shootout was just 10 seconds long- the Bears bursting past the Northstars defence to score on the rush and take the game.

The Northstars will have two weeks to rest and prepare for their next big challenge - a double-header weekend in Canberra against the CBR Brave on the weekend of the 19th and 20th of June.

Scoring Summary:

1st period:

14:10 1-0 Northstars lead – NNS goal by David Jeremy, assists by Patrick Nadin and Tim Stanger

06:34 1-1 Bears tie – SB goal by Ellesse Carini, assisted by Alexander Wardlaw and Slavomir Boris

2nd period:

05:59 1-2 Bears lead – SB goal by Tomas Steven, assisted by Alexander Wardlaw and Thomas Moncrief

02:32 1-3 Bears goal – SB goal by Callum Wardlaw, assisted by Tomas Steven and Adrian Esposito

3rd period:

08:21 2-3 Northstars goal – NNS goal by David Jeremy, assisted by Ethan Hawes and Patrick Ward

08:06 3-3 Northstars tie – NNS goal by Hunter Ellen, assisted by Connor Schultz and Mackenzie Gallagher

Overtime:

04:50 3-4 Bears win – SB goal by Timothy Newmark, assisted by Thomas Steven and Alexander Wardlaw

Next home game:

Sunday 27th June 4pm versus Sydney Ice Dogs.