COACH Kevin Noble expects the Newcastle Northstars to get a preview of the play-offs in a blockbuster Australian Ice Hockey League double-header at home this weekend.
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The Northstars host Hellyer Conference leaders Melbourne Ice (40 points) on Saturday and back up against third-placed Perth Thunder (32) on Sunday.
The Northstars (26 points) lead the Rurak Conference but have five less wins than the Ice and are coming of consecutive losses to the Thunder in Perth last round.
"They are two tough teams," Noble said. "It is the stiffest competition we will see this year in terms of potential play-off match-ups. If we are not at our best this weekend, we will pay for that."
The Northstars will again be without Riley Klugerman and Wehebe Darge.
"We will hopefully get some good news on at least one of them next week," Noble said.
In their absence, Noble expects Daniel Berno and import Francis Drolet to lead the way but said it will take a team effort for a positive weekend.
"We need the guys we rely on to produce," he said. "They are going to have to carry a lot of the weight. That is what is expected of them.
"We will need every guy in the room this weekend to be a lead dog, have a pack mentality, and contribute.
"That doesn't mean score points. It means little details to their game. Being on the defensive side of pucks, blocking shots, being good structurally in the neutral zone, not being beat one-on-one. And some timely goals. There are a lot of opportunities there when you have a depleted line-up."
The Ice are fresh from consecutive wins at home over the Sydney Ice Dogs (6-3) and Central Coast Rhinos (4-3 in overtime) and boast leading goaltender, Japanese import Tatsunoshin Ishida.
"Their goaltender has a save percentage of 0.939 which means they are getting a lot of saves," Noble said. "We are going to have to do a good job at trying to create some traffic and get his eyes going east-west. When we get our chances we have to make sure we are clinical."
Noble was happy with the effort in Perth, where the Northstars lost 4-2 and 3-2 in a shootout, but critical of the execution.
"We played hard," Noble said. "Considering the adversity, especially being three guys down on Sunday, the boys really battled hard.
"They are a good team and offensively we didn't get some of the chances we would have liked. Unfortunately, we only got one of a possible six points and that is not good enough.
"We can be happy with our effort and all that, but it is a results driven business. It wasn't good enough and we have to find a way [to win] this weekend."
