The quest for the Canalta Cup continued Friday night at the Civic Centre as your Battlefords North Stars hosted the Flin Flon Bombers. The North Stars were able to dispose of the Kindersley Klippers in five games while the Bombers followed suit, finishing off the Weyburn Red Wings in five after losing the series opener.
The Battlefords battled through some adversity in the first round, pushing through some key injuries. Well, Friday night saw another boost in the lineup. Not only will they have Dustin Gorgi for a full round, but division one committee, Reed Delainey, is back with the team for the semifinals.
Although the offence showed up to play in front of a deafening crowd of over 1,800, it was Bombers netminder, Brenden Newton, stealing the game and walking away with a 3-1 victory.
Gorgi and Igor Leonenko highlighted the scoring opportunities in the first period, both driving to the net on their backhand from the right wing. Newton, who came out of the first round with a .962 save percentage, was equal to the task both times, and was a key cog in stopping the lone power play opportunity from the North Stars.
In transition, it was the Bombers who got on the board first in the opening frame, courtesy of their top line. Brandon Switzer cut into the slot from the right wing, trying to go far side on Tyler Fuhr, but the North Stars netminder kicked out his left pad. A bouncing puck found the pants of Alex Smith, ricocheting off of him and into the back of the net for his second of the playoffs.
After 20 minutes of play the North Stars led in shots 17-13, while Newton stopped a flurry of final minute attempts.
Reed Delainey provided a spark for the offence in the opening shift of the second period. After going the length of the ice on a two-on-one with Bryce Hall, Delainey was able to find number 17 in the slot, but Newton shut him down with a glove save.
Five minutes later it was speedster Rory Davidson flying down the left wing, tying the game up at one. After slicing through the neutral zone, Davidson was able to cut to the side of the net, jamming the puck in and over the pad of Newton for his first goal of the postseason. Kendall Fransoo drew the assist on the breakout.
“The goal was all my linemates and the work from the defence. A good faceoff win in our end, went D-to-D, and got [the puck] up. I got lucky and beat their defence to the puck and found an open net,” Davidson said after the tilt.
Fuhr came back with some quality saves as part of a perfect second period. The North Stars netminder flashed the leather after goal scorer Joel Kocur was alone on the left hashmark, and provided nine saves throughout the middle stanza.
The black and white outshot the Bombers 15-9 in the second period, setting the stage for an exciting third in front of a packed house.
The opening chance of the final frame came six minutes in. Fuhr was able to come out of his crease and cut off the angle of a doorstep opportunity from Bombers captain Tyson Empey, keeping the game deadlocked at one. Flin Flon kept coming, but Fuhr came through with another massive save on a two-on-one deflection off a saucer pass from Greyson Reitmeier.
“They came to play,” Davidson said following the loss, “both goalies were giving their team chances to win, it was just a matter of who bears down more and puts it in the back of the net.”
Fuhr finished the game with 33 saves, Newton had 40.
With 37 seconds left, the Bombers finally solved Fuhr on a scramble play in the slot. Bodies were sprawled on the ice in an attempt to clear the puck but it wouldn’t do the trick. Kristian St. Onge found the puck at the side of the net and flipped it over the pad of the North Stars goalie, sealing the deal in game one. Empey later iced it with an empty netter.
The Battlefords power play had their opportunities, but weren’t able to capitalize on four attempts.
“Our shooters have to be better than they were tonight. We lacked composure with the puck in the offensive zone and we’ll make some adjustments.” Head Coach Kevin Hasselberg said after the game.
The North Stars look to tie the series up tonight. It looks as though there will be no blowouts in this one. Puck drop at 7:30 p.m.
News-Optimist THREE STARS
1) Brenden Newton (40 saves)
2) Tyler Fuhr (33 saves)
3) Rory Davidson (1 G)
