Goaltender Ryan Delorme backstopped the Norman Northstars to a win in their first home game of the season Oct. 9, which was also the team's first game in the new C.A. Nesbitt Arena, putting on a clinic in the home team's net. He turned away 37 of 39 shots, including 17 in the pivotal second period when the Northstars bent by giving up two goals but didn't break, enabling Dillon McCombie to score his first goal as a Northstar on a power play in overtime to give his squad a 3-2 win.

The home-opening win pushed the Northstars record to .500, at 2-2, but it only lasted one day as the Southwest Cougars came back the next night with a 5-2 victory to spoil Mitchell Backhouse's first start in net in the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League.

Cody Zulyniak opened the scoring in the first period of Friday night's game, bursting out on a breakaway off a neutral zone turnover and deking to the backhand to beat sprawling Cougars goaltender Troy Chandler. Southwest nearly tied it up in the first minute of the second period, ringing a shot off the post and out behind Delorme, but it was the Northstars who got on the scoreboard as Roger Tagoona tipped a point shot by Kane McKee and then put in his own rebound. Northstars captain Quentin Holmes picked up an assist on the play.

The Cougars stormed back, as Delorme turned aside a breakaway chance on the ensuing face-off, but Southwest got on the board when Sutton Olson swooped around the defence and tucked a puck in on a power play with 8:15 remaining in the period. Jesse Bernard then made it a brand new game with 1:35 to go before the intermission, jamming a rebound past Delorme. The Cougars tried desperately to go ahead in the final minute, buzzing the Northstars’ net and winning battles all over the ice but Delorme kept the score even as the period ended with the Cougars outshooting the Northstars 19-7.

The third period was scoreless, with Northstars outshooting Southwest 10-8.

The Cougars jumped out to a 3-0 lead on 11 shots in the first period Oct. 10, with Cameron Rowat tallying two and Bernard the other. Zulyniak got the Northstars on the scoreboard with a carbon copy of the previous night's goal early in the second period, blocking a shot and capitalizing on the breakaway against Southwest netminder Brian Archibald. Rylan Veitch scored his first as a Northstar with 2:22 left in the period, converting a 3-on-1 to draw his team within one. The Northstars outshot the Cougars 15-6 in the middle frame, helped by several power plays.

Kirby Braybrook scored early in the final period to make the score 4-2 for Southwest before Riley Johnston put the game out of reach with a power play marker four minutes later. The Cougars outshot the Northstars 18-6 in the third period.

Backhouse stopped 30 shots in his Northstars debut.

Mayor Tim Johnston addressed the crowd at the Oct. 9 game, saying that three levels of government had pledged $10 million to complete the upgrade of the Thompson Regional Community Centre in the next two years. Doug Mintenko, who got the Northstars established in the mid-1980s, dropped the puck for the ceremonial face-off as the Northstars celebrated the home opener of their 25th season.