The Norman Northstars slipped further behind in the East Division of the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League on their latest road trip Dec. 11-13, winning only one of three games - a 5-4 win over the Kenora Thistles Dec. 12 - and now sit three points out of fourth place, with 21 points to the Winnipeg Thrashers' 23.

The Northstars are just two points up on the Thistles, who beat the Stars 6-2 Dec. 11 to open a two-game series, but Kenora has played five fewer games to this point in the season.

The final game of the road trip was a 7-2 loss Dec. 13 to the Eastman Selects, who are now second in the East Division with 29 points, 22 back of the division leading Winnipeg Wild.

Team-leading goal-scorer Roger Tagoona tallied twice in the win against the Thistles, while Cody Zulyniak, Kane McKee and Wayne Folster each recorded singles. The teams were tied 2-2 after one period and the Northstars led 3-2 after 40 minutes. Nathan Bruyere had two goals and Jon Johannesson and Jacob Nolan one each for Kenora, who fired 35 pucks on goaltender Mitchell Backhouse. Matt Benson made 21 saves for the Thistles.

The night before, the Thistles took a 2-1 lead in the first 20 minutes and added three more in the second period. Brent Biasiol had a three-point game with two goals for Kenora, whose other goals came from Jordan Davidson, Nolan, Bruyere and Johannesson. Benson made 35 wins for the Thistles, while Ryan Delorme stopped 45 shots for the Northstars in a losing cause. Jaron Campbell and Dillan McCombie had the goals for the Northstars.

Sunday's game was close through 20 minutes, with the Selects holding a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period, but they outscored the Northstars 2-0 in the middle frame to go into the third period leading 4-1. Brett Ferguson and Dylan Hykawy had the goals for the Northstars while Delorme was tagged with another loss in net.

The Northstars' record now stands at 10-17-1. They have only two wins in their past 10 games, a stretch that included a six-game losing streak. They close out 2009 on the road, playing the Central Plains Capitals Dec. 18 and the Parkland Rangers Dec. 19-20.