Northland showed improvement again but were unable to pick up a win in their final pool match in the Ford National Hockey League.
They went down in a fighting effort 4-1 to Auckland and now face the prospect of a playoff against North Harbour.
After going down by a combined 16-2 in their opening two fixtures against Canterbury and Central, they needed major improvement as they looked to take on powerhouses Auckland.
Auckland had accounted for both Canterbury and Central previously which added to the difficulty of the task for Northland.
Things looked like they were heading the same direction as their first two matches after Joe Crooks opened Auckland's account after just five minutes.