SIMON Anderson praised his Oxford City Stars’ patience as they came from behind to claim a first away win of the season.

Joe Edwards netted a hat-trick in a 7-3 victory at Division 1 South basement boys Milton Keynes Thunder.

But while Edwards’ early opener maintained Stars’ run of winning every time they have bagged the first goal this season, it was not a straightforward success.

Thunder hit back to lead 2-1 at the end of the first period, boosting hopes of a first win of the season.

But Stars steadily worked their way back, edging ahead again by the end of the second period, before stretching well clear in the final 20 minutes.

Anderson, Stars’ head coach, said: “We’ve not lost every time we have scored the first goal this season and so we wanted to work for that first goal.

“I’m really happy the boys managed to do that and even though we had a tough first period, it was important that we did not panic.”

Ollie Shone levelled the game at 2-2 in the 29th minute, before David Manning struck a powerplay goal to make it 3-2 before the end of the second period.

The visitors’ dominant start to the final frame was rewarded by quickfire goals from Mike Whillock and Edwards, giving them a cushion for the first time.

Thunder pulled a goal back with six minutes remaining, but it did not spark a comeback.

Instead, Stars restored their three-goal lead when Ryan Widmar kept his cool to convert a penalty.

Edwards completed his treble late on to wrap up a decent night for Anderson’s men.

The Stars boss said: “A second period regroup helped us massively and we played a full twenty minutes that set us up for the third period nicely.

“We managed the game well in the third and it led us to our first road win of the season.

“I thought we looked an offensive threat whenever we came up the ice and our defensive game was ok.

“We can obviously improve that and we will need to if we want to win against the teams above us.

“Overall, I was very pleased with the guys’ performance.

“We had a hard week of practice and we now need to play smart, work hard and pick up some more wins on the road.

“We want to return to Oxpens in December with confidence to produce in front of our own fans.”

Stars visit leaders Chelmsford Chieftains on Sunday.