The Battleford AAA Stars gained momentum heading into the Mac's Midget AAA Tournament.
The Stars won two of three games the weekend of Dec. 21 in SMAAAHL action, their last games before travelling to Calgary.
Dec. 19 saw the Stars head to Saskatoon to play the Contacts. Saskatoon skated to a 7-1 victory over Battlefords. Kole Lind and Kade Kehoe each had a goal and two assists in the win.
Saskatoon jumped out to an early lead in the first period. Garret Pilon scored 63 seconds into the game, beating Battlefords goaltender Ryan Rewerts. The rest of the period remained scoreless as Saskatoon edged the Stars in shots 11-9.
In the second, the Contacts scored two goals within 45 seconds. Jimmy Lambert opened the scoring at 13:12 for Saskatoon. Erik Climenhaga extended the Contacts' lead to three at 12:29 in the second.
Battlefords got on the board with a power play goal. With Joshua Bergen in the box for head contact, Brandon Lesko beat Saskatoon goaltender Brock Hamm with 4:49 left in the frame.
The Contacts restored their three goal lead 45 seconds later. Evan Fiala beat Rewerts to put Saskatoon up 4-1. Saskatoon extended their lead to four when Jordan Walls scored with 18 seconds left in the second.
Saskatoon added two more goals in the third. Lind and Kehoe both scored in the period to make the final score 7-1.
Rewerts made 29 saves in a losing effort. Hamm stopped 24 shots to lead the Contacts to the win.
The Stars travelled to Regina for two games Dec. 21 and 22. Battlefords swept the weekend series against the Pat Canadians.
Battlefords won 5-4 Dec. 21 led by Spencer Bast's goal and three assists and Graham Gove's final minute heroics.
Regina opened the scoring in the first period. Cohen Yano tallied a power play marker for the Pat Canadians, beating Rewerts with 12 minutes left in the period. Battlefords tied the game on the power play. Alex Pernitsky put the puck past Regina goaltender Logal Flodell with 4:20 left in the first. The Pat Canadians answered Jayden Halbgewach's unassisted goal with less than a minute left in the period, giving Regina a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
The Stars scored the only goal in the second period. Lesko tied the game at two with six minutes left in the frame.
It was a back-and-forth third period. Battlefords took their first lead of the game midway through the third on a Josh Bly goal.
The lead held until a wild final three minutes decided the winner. The Pat Canadians scored twice in a minute to take the lead. Arthur Miller scored first on a power play with 3:13 to play. Jake Tesarowski beat Rewerts 57 seconds later to give Regina a 4-3 lead.
Bast tied the game at four with 1:31 left in the third period. Gove scored the game-winning goal with 17 seconds to play, handing the Stars a thrilling 5-4 win.
Rewerts stopped 34 shots to earn the win for Battlefords. Flodell made 31 saves in the loss for Regina.
Battlefords picked up a 3-1 win over Regina Dec. 22 in their last league game before the holiday break. Pernitsky had a goal and an assist to lead the Stars to victory.
The Pat Canadians scored the only goal of the first period on the power play. Tyler Adams beat Battlefords goaltender Rylan Toth, making his eighth start of the season.
The Stars took over in the second period with three unanswered goals. Josh LaFramboise scored on the power play 38 seconds into the period to tie the game. Layne Young tallied the eventual game winner with eight minutes left in the second. Pernitsky iced the game with a minute left in the middle frame, giving the Stars the 3-1 lead.
Toth stood tall in the third period, stopping all 12 of Regina's shots. He stopped 32 of 33 shots in his first action since Oct. 27. Flodell made 23 saves while losing his fifth game of the year.
The Stars (18-6-4-1) are third in the SMAAAHL with 41 points. They are three points behind the first place Notre Dame Argos, who have played two fewer games.
Battlefords resume play in the SMAAAHL Jan. 9 when they travel to Swift Current to take on the Legionnaires.
