The Norman Northstars took on the Yellowhead Chiefs this weekend at CA Nesbitt Arena, earning a 5-4 overtime win on Oct. 31, followed by a 4-1 loss the following Sunday afternoon. The win represents the Northstars’ first victory of the season so far.
Halloween night saw the Northstars start off with powerful momentum early in the first period: the team scored on two of nine shots against the opposition in under 10 minutes, with goals scored unassisted by Ethan Stuckless and Drew Tait-Reaume. The tides had begun to shift, however, after three penalties put the Northstars at the wrong end of the power play for much of the second half of the first period. Though Michael Markus managed to score once more for the Northstars, the Chief’s forward players had clearly woken up.
Despite a solid performance, Northstar goalie Jeremy Dutcawich was pushed to his limit in the second period: the Chiefs made 12 attempts on the net in nine minutes, including a shot squeezed through by Brian Mentuck. Connor Faulkner replaced Dutcawich for a short breather, though he faced no shots on goal. The Chiefs continued to outpace the Northstars shot-for-shot in the second half of the period at five attempts against two, including one goal by Tucker Scantlebury.
The Northstars’ Markus scored his second goal of the game early in the third period at 1:15 followed by two goals from the Chiefs by Brody Smith and Brian Mentuck, tying the score at the end of the third period at 4-4. With no resolution in the five-minute overtime, Markus scored the sole goal in the shootout period, earning the ecstatic Northstars their first win of the season. The final score was 5-4 for the Northstars.
Sunday’s game was significantly more lopsided; the first period saw the Chiefs score three out of 10 shots, including even-strength goals by Benoit Mobray and Scantlebury and one power-play goal by Dayton Heino. The second period continued to see the Northstars largely on the defensive, with Mowbray scoring his second goal for the Chiefs.Earlier in the period, Ethan Stuckless had managed to score the Northstars’ only goal during a power play at 13:47.
By the third period, the Northstars began to mount a more aggressive offence, firing off more shots on the Chiefs than the previous two periods combined; nonetheless, the Chiefs managed to hold their own and not allow any more goals, closing the game with a score of 4-1 while outshooting the home team 28-14.
The Northstars are back at C.A. Nesbitt Arena Npv. 7-8 to play the Southwest Cougars.
