![Newcastle's Matthew Price after finding the back of the net against his former club Canberra on Sunday. Picture by Jess Fuller Newcastle's Matthew Price after finding the back of the net against his former club Canberra on Sunday. Picture by Jess Fuller](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/gNecaFSpqFSLkittedmeiY/9c8cb7bb-5cd7-4789-8478-0e48535bbd3d.jpg/r0_284_2048_1669_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
ALTHOUGH buoyed by a breakthrough victory over Canberra and an undefeated record against Perth this season, Northstars coach Kevin Noble knows the challenge that lies ahead to lift the Goodall Cup.
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Six franchises remain in contention to claim the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) title in 2023 with play-offs scheduled across the next fortnight, starting in Newcastle on Saturday (5pm).
The Northstars face must-win finals encounters at all three turns as they eye national silverware for the first time since 2016.
Perth visit Hunter Ice Skating Stadium (HISS) for a conference crossover with the winner advancing to a top-four shootout in Melbourne the following weekend (August 26-27).
"There's six teams left at this point and every team has as good a chance as the other to hoist the trophy," Noble told the Newcastle Herald.
"One game and anything can happen, we have to be at our very best and be ready to go. Perth will be an extremely tough test for us."
Back-to-back results over Perth earlier this year, 4-2 away on May 13 and 6-5 hosting the Thunder on June 11, also hasn't gone unnoticed.
![Pat Nadin playing for the Northstars against Thunder at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium on June 11. Picture by Jess Fuller Pat Nadin playing for the Northstars against Thunder at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium on June 11. Picture by Jess Fuller](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/gNecaFSpqFSLkittedmeiY/98b6cad4-826f-4e59-84ed-62183f1623a0.jpg/r0_341_1998_1169_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"You feel good about them [head-to-head wins previously] and you feel confident having had success this year," Noble said.
"We have some momentum coming off this week as well, playing good hockey against a good team, so we'll look to build on that."
Noble, the AIHL coach of the year in 2022, doesn't anticipate any changes to Newcastle's 22-man squad listed on the weekend.
"That's our group and those are the guys we will be relying on to get the job done," he said.
"They've proven all year they're up to the task and I wouldn't want to go into battle with anybody else."
Canadian imports Josh Adkins (Leeds) and Tanner Butler (Bristol) have both secured English deals.
Matthew Price, in his return campaign at Newcastle, scored against former club Canberra at HISS on Sunday.
"It certainly means a lot to him [Price] to score against his old team and it's something hopefully he can build on going into play-offs this weekend," Noble said.
![Newcastle's Zane Jones celebrates a goal against Perth earlier this year. Picture by Jess Fuller Newcastle's Zane Jones celebrates a goal against Perth earlier this year. Picture by Jess Fuller](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/gNecaFSpqFSLkittedmeiY/772a2733-b20b-4344-b613-a53194eca02b.jpg/r0_382_2007_1174_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Northstars will train on Tuesday and Thursday.
"Training this week will focus on us and then we'll get into trying to break down Perth. The main thing we need to do is worry about our game," Noble said.
Newcastle placed second in their AIHL conference with 56 points, seven shy of leaders Canberra (63) and 23 clear of Brisbane (30), but third overall when compared to Sydney Bears (60), Melbourne Mustangs (55) and Perth (52).
Of the 19 wins recorded by the Northstars from 26 appearances, 14 of those came in two streaks of seven and dropping just one game in between.
Brisbane and Mustangs clash in Melbourne on Sunday (2pm). Bears and Canberra have the weekend off.
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