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Five-goal period lifts Northstars to sweep of Capitals

The Norman Northstars won both games at home for the first time this season over the weekend, building up a four-goal lead over the Central Plains Capitals and hanging on for a 4-2 win on Friday, then scoring five third period goals to erase a one-go
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Jameson Scott of the Norman Northstars had two goals, including this bank shot from behind the goal line, in the third period on Nov. 5 as his team scored five goals in the final 20 minutes to beat the Central Plains Capitals 6-3.

The Norman Northstars won both games at home for the first time this season over the weekend, building up a four-goal lead over the Central Plains Capitals and hanging on for a 4-2 win on Friday, then scoring five third period goals to erase a one-goal deficit and cruise to a 6-3 victory the following night.

Tanner Hepp, Eddie Bayer and Jameson Scott each scored a pair of goals for the Northstars on Saturday, Scott's and Bayer's all coming in the final 20 minutes, while Lodie Ipeelie had a pair the previous night, with Bayer and Evan Akkerman adding the others.

The wins improved the Northstars' record to 8-7 on the season, and solidified their grip on fourth place in the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League's East Division, putting them four points up on the fifth place Eastman Selects.

"It was nice to sweep a weekend at home finally, getting back on track and above .500 again," said head coach Dustin Levesque.

Ipeelie put the Northstars on the board after a scoreless first period on Friday, whizzing a low wrist shot into the bottom corner past goaltender Mitchell Wiebe 2:23 into the middle frame. Bayer doubled with lead with just over three minutes left in the period, getting position in front and putting the puck in the net with the Northstars enjoying a two-man advantage. The Capitals were outshot 18-10 in the middle frame.

Akkerman made it a three-goal lead just over five minutes into the third period, getting the second rebound of a shot by Hepp and backhanding it past Wiebe, who was out of position after making the second save. Ipeelie's second of the game came with the Northstars on the power play, as they were 2-for-11 on the night.

"I thought the first period on Friday was a little blah but then we picked things up by keeping things simple and putting pucks on net and driving wide into the zone," said Levesque.

Justin Paulic made 41 saves in the game, as the Capitals outshot the North Stars 43-41, to pick up his sixth win of the season. Central Plains tried to make a game of it with a pair of late goals, including Cody Durdle's tally with 5:55 to play and the Capitals playing 5-on-3, and a shorthanded marker by Devin Muir with 3:24 to play.

Hepp got the Northstars an early lead on Saturday, scoring 4:54 into the game, but Aaron Dupasquier and Riley Cyrenne, on the power play, scored in the last 3:05 to send the Capitals to the dressing room with a one-goal lead. The second period was a stalemate, with each team recording 11 shots but none getting past Bronson Ammeter in the Capitals' net or Aaron Vallance at the Northstars' end. Then, in the third period, the floodgates opened, as the Northstars scored five goals, including three on the power play, in a span of just over six minutes. Bayer got things started 2:46 after the resumption of play, followed by Hepp getting his second just 13 seconds later. Scott put the home team up two when he banked a shot in off Ammeter from behind the goal line on the power play, then scored another, also with the man advantage, a little over three minutes later. Bayer's second came 31 seconds later when he blasted a slapshot over Ammeter's shoulder from the face-off dot. Central Plains got one back with 4:52 to play, when Muir scored a power play goal, but it was too little to late. Vallance stopped 37 shots for his second win of the season, while the Northstars fired 48 pucks on Ammeter.

"On Saturday in particular we struggled with recognizing when to commit on the offensive blueline and gave up way too many odd-man rushes as a result," said Levesque. "Once everyone got more positionally sound, committed to backchecking, and we started throwing the body again in the third those five unanswered goals came in a bunch."

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