Preview Round 14 – Melbourne Mustangs v Newcastle North Stars

In the most unlucky of seasons the MOAT: Melbourne Mustangs finally had some fortune in the way of a shootout victory over the Melbourne Ice. It seems tough then that they should have to face the other AIHL leading team less than two days later. The Newcastle North Stars are heading to Melbourne this weekend to try and achieve what the Ice could not – a season sweep over the Mustangs.

The Mustangs will be buoyed by their come from behind win in the derby. Playing with a shorter bench, they were two goals down with under four minutes remaining and at long last the puck finally began to bounce in their favour. Late goals to Corey Banfield and Pat O’Kane levelled the scores at 5-5 and the momentum carried through into the shootout, in which every Mustangs shooter scored to seal the win. It was great to see the side fight back and overcome adversity, but they cannot allow themselves to fall behind this weekend.

The Mustangs barely have time to recover from such a tough game and are forced to take on a side who have had two full weeks to prepare for the upcoming encounter. The North Stars travel to Melbourne following a bye last weekend, their most recent game an 11-3 crushing of the Mustangs in Newcastle. There were a few notable omissions from the Mustangs team that was totally outplayed in that game, but it will take more than the addition of Jamie Bourke and the Hughes brothers to reverse such a score.

The North Stars have only lost three games all season, and while much of the offence has come through their outstanding imports Geordie Wudrick and Luke Moffatt, they have attacking threats all through their squad. A total of 11 North Stars players collected points in the previous game between the sides and as such, the Mustangs defence cannot relax at any stage of the game this week. They will need to be switched on from the outset, because if they allow the North Stars to get a lead, they have proven to be extremely difficult to chase down.

In all three games against the North Stars, the Mustangs have faced multiple goal deficits in the final period and they have not been able to score more than three times. The Mustangs have improved their scoring percentage over the past few games and will need to convert their shots if they are to trouble a team that has been scoring at an average of over five goals a game. Mustangs stars O’Kane and Banfield have been leading the charge for the improving offence and will be relied on to continue their scoring, if the Mustangs are to build on their three game winning streak.

The North Stars were knocked out of first place in the AIHL standings through the one point the Melbourne Ice gained in their shootout loss, which means they will be in no mood for a holiday when they travel to Melbourne. Hopefully, the Mustangs renewed confidence, will prevent another team from getting four wins against them this season.