Josh LaFramboise had two goals and an assist to give the Battlefords AAA Stars a 5-2 win over the Saskatoon Contacts in game three of their best-of-five SMAAAHL quarter-final series at the Civic Centre Tuesday night.
With the win, the Stars swept the Contacts to advance to the provincial semifinals.
Battlefords had a strong start in the first period. Michael Korol broke into the Contacts' zone on the right wing and snapped a shot on net. It almost fooled Saskatoon goaltender Brock Hamm, but he kicked the puck away with his right pad. The Stars held the Contacts without a shot for the first 4:30 of the game.
When tested early in the first, Battlefords netminder Rylan Toth was able to make the necessary saves. After a puck was batted out of the air, Contacts forward Jordan Walls almost caught Toth off guard with a shot in close.
The Contacts kept the pressure up after their slow start. Ian Parker caught up to a long pass into the Stars' zone that got behind the defence. He tried sliding the puck five-hole, but Toth was able to make the stop.
The Stars opened the scoring midway through the first. Korol won a faceoff in the attacking zone to Alex Pernitsky at the point. He had time to pick his spot and beat Hamm with a slap shot over the goaltender's blocker for a 1-0 lead with 11:27 remaining.
After the goal, Battlefords had a chance to extend the lead with a scramble in front of the net. Troy Gerein had a couple of whacks at the loose puck before the play was whistled dead.
Saskatoon tied the game with 9:24 left. Garrett Pilon's shot from the left wing fooled Toth. The Stars goaltender got a piece of the puck with his blocker, but it trickled past him and into the net.
Battlefords had a chance to regain their lead later in the first. With the Contacts making a line change, Spencer Bast set up Josh Bly heading into the attacking zone. As Bly made his move, Hamm sprawled across his net to keep the game tied at one.
The Contacts ran into penalty trouble with five minutes left in the opening frame. After Kole Lind took a hooking penalty with 5:37 left to play, Curtis Roach was whistled for covering the puck with his hand.
The Stars used the two-man advantage to retake their lead. LaFramboise had space to get off a hard wrist shot that Hamm did not handle. The puck got behind Hamm and bounced over the goal line with 4:35 left in the first.
One of the hottest lines in the league struck again for the Stars with 2:15 to play in the first. Bast passed the puck to LaFramboise behind the net. LaFramboise centered it for Bly who slid the puck through Hamm's legs to give Battlefords a 3-1 heading into the first intermission. The trio have a combined 10 goals and 15 assists in the Stars' three playoff games.
The Contacts made it a one-goal game 2:14 into the second. Saskatoon had pressure in the Stars' zone for the first few shifts of the period. Erik Climenhaga took a pass from Kobe Kindrachuk and chipped the puck over Toth's left pad to make it a 3-2 game after two periods.
In the third, Battlefords were applying pressure in the opening moments of the period. Layne Young centred the puck from the corner, but Bryce Neufeld redirected the puck wide of the net. Shortly after, Logan Nachtegaele attempted a wrap-around that was stopped by Hamm.
The pressure paid off for the Stars 2:28 into the frame. Battlefords won a faceoff in the Contacts' zone and passed to Connor Manegre at the right point. His shot found space between Hamm's chest and arm to give the Stars a 4-2 lead.
Battlefords made it a three-goal game with a shorthanded goal. LaFramboise stole the puck in the neutral zone. Entering the zone on a two-on-one rush, he kept the puck and snapped it under Hamm's glove with 7:05 remaining in the game.
Saskatoon made it a two-goal game again with 4:34 to play. Ryan Rothenburger shot from the slot beat Toth to make it 5-3. The players on the Contacts bench were heard telling each other the game is not over yet.
However, with Hamm on the bench for an extra attacker in the final minute, Kaleb Dahlgren scored an empty net goal with 16.2 seconds left to make it a 6-3 final.
In the semifinals, Battlefords will play the highest remaining seed in the playoffs in a best-of-five series to advance to the provincial finals.
