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A few defensive hiccups cost Northstars match-up against Thistles

The Norman Northstars continue to search for their first home win of the season following a Nov. 9 loss to the Kenora Thistles, who managed to walk away from this contest with a 4−1 victory.
Norman Northstars vs. Kenora Thistles (Nov. 9, 2018)
Northstars goaltender Rylan Potkonjak finished Friday night’s match-up against the Kenora Thistles with 42 saves.

The Norman Northstars continue to search for their first home win of the season following a Nov. 9 loss to the Kenora Thistles, who managed to walk away from this contest with a 4−1 victory.

However, the Northstars started out Friday’s match-up on the right foot, with forward Henry Muchikekwanape putting his team on the board four minutes into the first period.

While the two teams established a pretty competitive back and forth, the Northstars started getting trapped in their own end halfway through the second period.

The Thistles ended up making them pay for being unable to clear the puck by scoring a trio of goals and taking a 3−1 lead heading into the third.

Even though the Northstars got their groove back in the last 20 minutes, they still couldn’t get the puck past Kenora goaltender Cooper Hatfield and gave up one last goal with seven minutes left to hand a 4−1 final to the visiting team.

Even though Northstars coach Murray Nychyporuk was happy with the majority of his team’s performance, he still expressed frustration with their lack of consistency throughout this season so far.

“We managed to play the better teams in the league very well,” he told CHTM Radio after the game had wrapped up. “It’s the bottom half where … people are worried about their own points and then we don’t play as a team.”

The Northstars will conclude their latest series against the Thistles on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Following that game, the Northstars are taking on the Southwest Cougars, Brandon Wheat Kings and Yellowhead Chiefs on the road next weekend, and will return home for a series against the Winnipeg Wild on Nov. 24−25.

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