The Battlefords kicked off 2016 the way a first place team should.
Coming into Saturday’s tilt against Kindersley, the North Stars held a perfect 5-0 record against their interdivision rivals.
They made it six straight at the Civic Centre against the Klippers while extending their winning streak to three in a 6-2 effort.
Coby Downs was a man on a mission Saturday, playing one of the best games of his SJHL career, gathering four points.
“He had a really good game tonight. It’s exciting when you have a player of that skill set. He was fighting the puck during the back-half of the pre-Christmas regular season games. He came back with a great attitude and he’s having some success here early on. We need him to contribute offensively in order for us to be successful.” Head Coach Kevin Hasselberg said after the tilt.
He tallied his third goal in two games when he and Dustin Gorgi broke out of their own end with speed. After criss-crossing at the blue line, Downs left the puck for Gorgi to pick up. Number 19 did just that, walked into the slot and fired a shot off the shoulder of goaltender Nathan Hargrave and 10 feet into the air. Downs crashed the net, grabbing the rebound sitting on the goal line and poking it into the back of the cage to make it 1-0 North Stars halfway through the first period.
He wasn’t done there, not even close. On the power play, Downs sliced around the right faceoff dot, grabbing a pass from Igor Leonenko. As he walked into the slot, the Kindersley defence collapsed, allowing a wide open shot deep in Klippers territory. Number 16 made no mistake as he wound up and fired a slapshot over the glove of Hargrave to give the Battlefords an opening frame two-goal advantage. Dustin Gorgi registered the second assist on the play.
With 20 seconds left, Rory Davidson and the “spark-plug” line acted as the catalyst in making it a 3-0 game. Davidson busted down the right wing, making a forward pass that deflected off a stick and onto the pads of Hargrave who kicked it away, Logan Nachtegaele was there to put away the rebound for his second of the season.
Just like he did in the first period, Downs found the back of the net in the middle frame to start the scoring. A game ago, on New Years eve, the forward from California was a goal short of a hat trick, he wouldn’t miss his opportunity this time. A scramble play in front of Hargrave allowed the puck to trickle onto the blade of Downs who was sitting behind the net. Hargrave’s pad wasn’t clenched against the post and the forward took advantage, bouncing it off his equipment and across the goal line for his third goal and 18th of the season. Davidson and Baxter Kanter had the helpers.
Downs was making plays on defence as well. He capped off his performance by intercepting a pass on the penalty kill, dragging the puck around the lone defender before finding Cody Spagrud on an odd-man rush. Spagrud deflected the strong feed past Hargrave to give the North Stars a 5-0 lead. The mark was special for him, scoring his first SJHL goal. He has 20 assists on the year and is the front-runner in points for all rookie defenceman.
The goal chased Hargrave from the game, allowing Brandan Bilodeau to come on in relief in the final frame. The goalie from Red Deer did a fantastic job, stopping 19 of 20 third period shots that came his way from the North Stars.
The lone goal was from Layne Young who found himself in perfect position on the power play after Leonenko fired a one-time shot off the pads of Bilodeau. The puck kicked out to the slot allowing the rookie to fire it past the netminder, putting the game away and making it 6-0. Jake McMillen got in on the action with the second assist, extending his point streak to four games.
The Klippers did get on the board, however. Leading scorer Austin Calladine beat Ryan Rewerts late in the final frame on a four-on-three. With a lot of ice to use, Calladine walked into the slot and shot through a screen.
Kindersley later made it 6-2 with a nice tic-tac-toe play, starting with Calladine from the left half wall, hitting Daniell Lange on the right slot, who then found Dexter Bricker on the doorstep for his 12th of the season.
Frustrations boiled over in the third for the Klippers, resulting in ejections from behind the Kindersley bench and over 100 minutes of penalties all together.
“I really liked our first 40, and it’s unfortunate the game had to go that way in the third period, I thought there was a lot of emotions tonight and that was our challenge. Especially in the third period, to capture those emotions and use them in a positive way.” Hasselberg said.
Rewerts has been fantastic since returning from injury, winning his second in as many games, kicking away 31 of 33 shots.
On deck are the Melville Millionaires as the North Stars look to extend their winning streak to four.
News-Optimist THREE STARS
1) Coby Downs (3 G, 1 A)
2) Igor Leonenko (2 A)
3) Cody Spagrud (1 G)
