Newcastle Northstars poised for second half of Australian Ice Hockey League season

Sitting second in their conference and fourth overall, the Northstars have earned 27 competition points from 13 appearances so far this season.

The first of Newcastle's 13 remaining matches will be played against Adelaide Adrenaline at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium (HISS) on Sunday (4pm).

Grand finalists last year, the Northstars opened with a 1-3 record before producing a seven-game winning streak and they now trail defending premiers Canberra (33) by six points on the ladder.

"To be in the position we're in and to still have a chance of finishing top of our conference is exceptional," Noble said.

"At the start of the year our goal was to finish first in our conference and obviously it's ideal to finish first in your conference, but more importantly you need to put yourself in a position to make play-offs and give yourself a chance to get into the dance.

"We've got a lot of new bodies on our team this year from last year so there's been a bit of an adjustment period for everyone as we get to know each other.

"All-in-all it's been a good first half [of the season] but, for anyone who knows sport, you don't get paid for your first-half accomplishments.

"You'll be judged going forward and that's been the message to our guys as we now enter the second half of our campaign.

"When everything gets a little bit tighter, games get a little bit bigger and every period, every shift becomes a little bit more important. It's trying to find a way to be good in those moments."

Northstars import Daniel Berno leads individual scoring on 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in front of Josh Adkins (25), Zane Jones (24), Francis Drolet (22) and homegrown product Ethan Hawes (21).

Noble also noted the addition of Riley Klugerman to Newcastle's roster while Canberra recruit Wehebe Darge and captain Liam Manwarring recently returned from injury lay-offs.

Three weeks ago the Northstars beat upcoming opponents Adelaide 6-5 at home and Noble says "it wasn't our best performance and we're going to need to be a lot better on Sunday".

Newcastle now have nine fixtures, including three straight double headers, scheduled next month with a postponed clash against Brisbane locked in for HISS on July 30.

"A lot of our guys have a professional background and are used to playing a lot of games in a short space of time," Noble said.

"We're looking forward to it and hopefully it brings us closer together."

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