Battlefords forward Braydon Buziak picked up a hat trick as the Stars routed the Contacts 9-1 Saturday afternoon in Saskatoon in SMAAAHL exhibition action.
The Stars used their special teams to pull away from the Contacts in the game. They scored three times on the power play and twice shorthanded.
Buziak scored his first of two power-play goals 6:49 into the first period. He beat Contacts goaltender Isaac LaBelle with assists from Troy Gerein and Layne Young. Buziak struck again on the power play with 8:19 to play in the first from Jared Hillis and Connor Manegre. With 5:39 left in the frame, Brandon Lesko added an unassisted goal to put the Stars 3-1 after 20 minutes.
Less than two minutes into the second period, Buziak completed his hat trick. He beat LaBelle again, this time shorthanded from Owen Lamb. Four minutes later, Lamb put the Stars up 5-0 on a goal assisted by Hillis.
The Contacts broke Stars goaltender Brett Pongracz's shutout 7:20 into the second period. Erik Erhmantrout scored to cut the Stars' lead to four.
With 6:57 remaining in the second, the Stars restored their five-goal lead. Kaleb Dahlgren picked up the Stars' second shorthanded goal of the game, giving Battlefords a 6-1 lead after two periods.
The Stars kept the offence coming in the third. Hillis scored an unassisted power-play goal with less than eight minutes to play. Dahlgren added his second of the game with an unassisted goal with 5:34 left. The Stars made it 9-1 with Kaelen's Holt unassisted marker with 2:31 remaining.
Pongracz stopped 22 of 23 shots to pick up the win for the Stars. LaBelle made 27 saves in the loss for the Contacts.
It was the Stars' second win of the pre-season. They play their first home exhibition game Wednesday night at the Civic Centre. Game time against the Saskatoon Blazers is 7:30 p.m.
The Stars open their regular season schedule Sept. 26 at the Civic Centre against the Regina Pat Canadians. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. Those two teams play the next night at the Civic Centre at 2 p.m.
