After the first 20 minutes of play, it looked the Battlefords North Stars were going to have their way with the Flin Flon Bombers.
However, as is often the case in junior hockey, the momentum switched after the North Stars took a two-goal lead early in the second frame.
The Bombers scored four unanswered goals Wednesday night as they ended the North Stars’ six-game winning streak, and extended their own win streak to six games, with a 4-2 win in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League play at the Civic Centre.
“I wish I would of went home after the first period, because it was great for us,” North Stars head coach and general manager Nate Bedford said. “I felt like if we had gone to an overtime tonight, they would have found a way to score four goals on us.
“I felt like our compete level went down as the game went along. Not only did we not stick to the game plan, but we shied away from doing anything gritty whatsoever. You’re not going to beat anyone in a seven-game series if you play like that.”
The way that the North Stars preformed in the third period, which they entered with a 2-2 tie, left Bedford fuming once the final buzzer sounded.
“It’s a harsh statement, but after the game the message to the guys was that I understood why they lost in the playoffs to Flin Flon last year, especially with how we preformed,” Bedford said.
“Going into the third period, I wanted to see our guys throw pucks on net and grind it out more than we had been doing. When you only have three shots on net after 14 minutes of play, that’s not going to cut it.”
Although the North Stars had a goal by Coby Downs called back by the officials in the first period due to a kicking motion, the hosts held a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Troy Gerein and Connor Logan.
After the three-minute mark of the second period, however, all the momentum began to move in the Bombers’ direction.
“Once they scored to make it 2-1, and after we had our goal called off in the first period, it seemed like our guys lost the motivation to compete,” Bedford said. “I really hope the one goal doesn’t make or break our team, but it certainly did tonight.”
After a sluggish start that could’ve been worse if not for some timely saves from goaltender Zac Robidoux, the Bombers tied the game up in the second frame with goals from Nate Hooper and Rylee Zimmer.
“It would have been easy to feel sorry for ourselves after that first period and just say that tonight wasn’t going to be our night,” said Bombers assistant coach Gary Childerhose, who is currently in charge of the team while head coach Mike Reagan is part of the coaching staff for Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge.
“The guys did a great job of sticking together and battling through a tough period. We like to simplify our game as much possible and we try get pucks and bodies to the net, which is what we were able to do tonight. I’m really proud of how we battled back.”
Dondre Watson broke the game open for the Bombers near the midway point of the third period, as he scored twice in a 13-second span.
After starting off the season with nine goals in his first seven SJHL games, Watson only scored once and had three assists in his next 20 contests, before finding the net three times and dishing out two helpers in his last three games.
“It was pretty tough to go through a slump like that, but I feel like I’m starting to get hot again,” Watson said.
“I was really excited after giving the guys the lead on that first goal, and I ended up having the puck on my stick right away after the face-off. I just rushed down the wing as fast I could, and I was able to fire it in.”
The quick goals from Watson would spell the end of the night for North Stars goaltender Joel Grzybowski, who was saddled with the loss after making 28 saves in 48:56 of action.
Taryn Kotchorek came on in relief and made five saves during the final nine minutes and 14 seconds of the game.
Watson led the Bombers offensively with two goals and an assist. Zimmer had a goal and an assist, while Connor Beebe dished out two helpers.
Robidoux turned aside 41 shots for his 11th win of the season.
Despite the loss, which dropped their record to 27-7-0-0, the North Stars still have a seven-point lead over the Estevan Bruins in the race for first place in the SJHL standings and are 15 points ahead of the Humboldt Broncos in the Finning Division.
Meanwhile, the 21-8-2-2 Bombers are just one point back of the Bruins for second place in the league following the Bruins’ 3-1 loss to the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox Wednesday night.
The North Stars will do battle with the Bombers once again Friday in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the Civic Centre.
Following that encounter, the North Stars will visit the Yorkton Terriers Saturday and travel to Melville to face the Millionaires Sunday in their last games before Christmas.
