On 22 March 2025, the Northstars welcomed the Rhinos to Hunter Ice Skating Stadium for the first of two exhibition games. The Newcastle Northstars started the series strong, winning 8-6 in front of a capacity crowd.
Hungry for action, the crowd got what they wished for with an exciting array of goals coming from both sides.
Patrick Nadin opened and closed the scoring for the Northstars with the first and last goals of the game. Wehebe Darge secured himself a hattrick with two goals in period one and his third in period three.
In period two, Liam Manwarring and Tim Stanger each scored a point, to the delight of the crowd. Stanger’s goal helped equalise going into the period two break.
One of Newcastle’s rookies, Maliq West, contributed to the 8 goal haul, scoring halfway through the final period with the goal that put Northstars ahead. It was after West’s goal that Nadin scored his brace to seal the win.
The following weekend, on March 29, the Northstars travelled down the M1 to Erina Ice Arena for game two of the series.
A big crowd in Erina made for a great vibe as fan bases from both teams combined as they prepared for the regular season to begin.
Unfortunately for the Northstars, their opponents would be too strong and the result would be a 1-2 win to the Rhinos.
The sole goal for the Northstars came from Casey Kubara in period two.
The Northstars opening weekend for the regular season will see them travel to Perth for a double header against the Thunder on the 5
th and 6
th April.
NORTHSTARS
ADRENALINE
BRAVE
ICE
MUSTANGS
THUNDER
LIGHTNING
RHINOS
