Michael Gudmandson stopped all 28 shots he faced to earn his second shutout as a member of the North Stars in a 4-0 win over the La Ronge Ice Wolves Friday night at the Civic Centre.
Battlefords had a strong start to the first period, generating an early chance that was put wide of the net.
La Ronge's best chance came on an early power play. Gudmandson had to dive across the crease to stop the puck with his stick on the ice, keeping Ice Wolves forward Owen LaClare off the score sheet.
The North Stars opened the scoring midway through the period. Battlefords forward Ryne Keller was fighting for a puck behind the net. The puck found its way out to the front of the net where Taylor Reich was all alone and beat La Ronge goaltender Dasan Sydora.
Igor Leonenko extended Battlefords' lead with three minutes left in the period. Leonenko stick handled through the La Ronge defence and roofed the puck over Sydora's glove hand.
The North Stars dominated the first period as they outshot the Ice Wolves 22-6.
In the second, Battlefords had an early goal waved off. The referee ruled North Stars forward Blake Young used a hand pass to set up Luke McColgan for a goal despite it appearing Young used his stick.
Battlefords tallied a power play marker with 6:26 left in the period. Sydora gave up a big rebound on Austin Evans' shot. The puck bounced right to Keller who buried it into a wide-open net.
Regan Yew had a chance late in the third on a wrap around, but was unable to stuff it past Sydora.
Some frustration started to boil over for the Ice Wolves in the third period. A fight broke out between McCoglan and LaClare with 11:30 left in the period.
La Ronge received an extra two-minute minor after the skirmish and the North Stars capitalized on the power play. There was a scramble in front of the Ice Wolves' net and Sydora was unable to find the puck. Young was able to knock it past Sydora after a couple of whacks at it, giving the North Stars a 4-0 lead.
With 1:45 left, another fight broke out. This time, Battlefords forward La Ronge forward Brenden Heinrich and Landon Robin squared off. Both players received five-minute majors and 10-minute misconducts for the fight.
Gudmandson made some key stops to preserve the shutout in the final moments. He now has a 6-1 record since joining the team. Sydora made 55 saves in a losing effort for the Ice Wolves.
The North Stars (17-15-0-2) set a new season high in shots, putting 59 pucks on target. Battlefords travel to Kindersley to take on the Klippers Tuesday night. The team returns home Wednesday night to host the Flin Flon Bombers in the last North Stars game before the holiday break. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. at the Civic Centre.
