Logan Nachtegaele scored his first two career SJHL goals Wednesday to lead the Battlefords North Stars (16-9-5-0) to 3-2 victory over the league leading Kindersley Klippers (22-7-2-2).
Jake Erickson scored the game winner in the third period, and Spencer Tremblay made 27 saves for the North Stars.
Nachtegaele’s first of the night came seven minutes into the opening frame, when he received a centring pass from Baxter Kanter who was coming down the left wing, and shoveled the puck towards the net, beating Klippers goalie Nathan Hargrave’s five-hole.
The North Stars played a sound first period, not being on the receiving end of any penalties.
Nachtegaele’s second goal of the period was nothing short of spectacular.
After Ryne Keller sent a perfectly placed pass off the boards onto the stick of Nachtegaele, he sprinted down the right wing before firing a shot under the glove of Hargrave with just 47 seconds remaining in the period.
The shots were deadlocked at 12 through 20 minutes, and the North Stars’ parade to the penalty box began in the second.
Nearly three and a half minutes in, Matthew Havens was sent to the box for hooking while battling for a loose puck. Braden Oleksyn made him pay when he wired a slap shot over the glove of Tremblay for his third of the season. Shaun MacPherson and Darcy DeRoose were given the assists.
The North Stars took two more penalties in the second, when Nick Fountain and Jackson Bond were given slashing and high-sticking penalties almost back-to-back. Just 33 seconds after Fountain stepped out of the box, Bond replaced him, sending Kindersley back to the power play.
Despite the three power-play opportunities, the North Stars had a 13-11 shot advantage during the frame.
Erickson restored the North Stars two-goal lead just over a minute into the period when he picked up a loose puck and fired home his third of the year from Brady O’Sullivan and Jake McMillen.
Jake Calverly sent the Klippers back to the power play 2:33 into the third period, and this time Graham Lanigan scored from Marc Dubeau and Branden Scheidl off a scramble in front of the net.
Both goalies continued to come up with big saves over the course of the third to keep the game within one, with Hargrave the busier of the two, as the shots were 10-6 in favour of Battlefords.
Connor Sych was given a double minor for checking from behind and roughing when he hit Lanigan into the boards with only 1:20 left to play, and then a 10-minute game misconduct when he fought MacPherson.
The Klippers captain dropped the gloves as soon as Lanigan went down, despite the fact it took away what would have been a power play for Kindersley had he not jumped in to defend his teammate.
North Stars captain Ryne Keller did a fantastic job fore-checking against the two Klippers defenseman who were trying to control the puck in their own zone in front of the empty net, killing nearly 30 seconds off the clock.
Kindersley had one last chance with a faceoff in the North Stars’ zone with three seconds left in the game, and after winning the faceoff, threw the puck towards the net, but couldn’t get it on goal as the horn rang to signal a 3-2 North Stars win.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the North Stars, who now play host to the Yorkton Terriers (10-15-1-2) Friday night.
The North Stars dropped a 3-2 game to the Terriers in Yorkton last Saturday.
