The Newcastle Northstars have dropped to second on the Australian Ice Hockey League ladder but coach John Kennedy jnr took heart of his team's response during a mixed double header at home on the weekend.
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The Northstars bounced back against the Perth Thunder on Sunday having lost a top-of-the-table clash to defending champions and now outright competition leaders the Canberra Brave on Saturday.
Newcastle beat Perth 6-1 at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium having gone down 6-2 to Canberra at the same venue.
"We looked a lot better and responded very well after yesterday," Kennedy jnr said during his post-match interview with AIHL media on Sunday.
"We looked at the tapes, spoke with a few players and got back to playing Northstars hockey."
Kennedy jnr felt the Northstars "came together" in game two courtesy of clearer "communication" in both offence and defence.
"I didn't feel like we worked as a team," he said in relation to game one.
Key import Sammy Banga scored two of Newcastle's four goals in Sunday's second period.
Northstars captain Bert Malloy also converted during that term along with recent Canadian recruit Luke Simpson.
This put the hosts 5-1 ahead because visiting Perth player Keven Veilleux had got one back to reduce the margin to three.
Newcastle pair Pat Nadin and Jaden Ryan picked up goals in the first and third periods respectively.
This result puts the Northstars three points behind Canberra on the overall standings after 14 outings, with the Brave defeating the Sydney Bears 6-3 on Sunday.
Canberra led from start to finish over Newcastle on Saturday. Banga and Richard Tesarik scored at home.
