The Battlefords Midget Stars were fit to be tied for much of this past week.
They drew 3-3 against the Beardy's Blackhawks and again with Notre Dame Hounds by the same score, before managing a 3-1 win Sunday afternoon.
The results did not help the Stars gain ground in the league standings, but they did not hurt the team either, as the Stars remain in playoff contention as the season winds down before the Christmas and New Year's break.
The road trip began for the Stars against the Beardy's Blackhawks. The Blackhawks' home game was played not at the usual location on the Beardy's reserve, but at the Flying Dust Reserve Arena near Meadow Lake Dec. 13.
Meadow Lake-area fans saw a close contest throughout with the Stars repeatedly scoring first, only to see Beardy's respond each time.
The first period saw the Stars score at the 3:34 mark as Kent Walchuk scored from Troy Gerein to make it 1-0. An Adam Santoro marker with 6:26 left from Colby Stanley and Logan Schatz on the power play made it 1-1.
In the second, an early goal by the Stars' Terrin Belosowsky from Spencer Bast and Josh Bly was countered later in the period when the Blackhawks' Connor Vermeulen scored from Santoro. That knotted it up at 2-2.
The third was more of the same as a power play marker from Austin Duzan, with assists from Regan Yew and Layne Young, was answered back late in the period with a shorthanded goal with 1:03 remaining from Cameron Preymack, with Andrew Manson assisting. That was all she wrote, as 3-3 was the final score.
Saturday saw the Stars head to Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox as they took on the Notre Dame Hounds.
In this game it was Notre Dame that opened the scoring. Kendall Fransoo scored from Daniel Wanner and Luke McCaw.
Not long after, at the 7:53 mark of the first, Brian Hillis tied it up with Braden Lacoursiere getting the assist, and the first period ended 1-1.
The second period saw both teams trade goals as the Stars' Dustin Bast scored from Duzan and Hillis to put the Stars ahead, but Luke McCaw scored on the power play from Kevin Madden and Jon Paris to end the second period at 2-2.
In the third period, Jon Paris put Notre Dame ahead with the assist from Alex Farquhar, but it was Kent Walchuk knotting it up with Ryan Frehlick assisting to wrap up the scoring in a 3-3 contest.
Sunday produced a far better result for the Stars as two power-play goals in the game from Josh Bly led the team to a 3-1 win.
Bly scored at the 1:31 mark of the first from Belosowsky and Duzan to make it 1-0, and that lead held up until early in the third when Luke McCaw scored from Madden and Paris to make it 1-1.
But goals by Duzan at the 5:14 mark, assisted by Braden Lacoursiere, and then another power-play marker from Bly with 6:32 remaining, with Bast and Walchuk assisting, wrapped up a 3-1 Stars victory.
Following the weekend action the Stars stand tied for third in the SMAAAHL league at 14-8-4-1 with 33 points, the same point total as the Saskatoon Contacts and Tisdale Trojans.
Coming up on the schedule for the Midget AAA Stars is a 2 p.m. home game Dec. 22 against the Saskatoon Contacts at the North Battleford Civic Centre.
That will be the Stars' last action before the Christmas break. They begin the new year with what will surely be the biggest game of their schedule Jan. 5 at the Civic Centre, as the Stars host Saskatoon Blazers at 7 p.m. in a tribute game to honor the late NHL player Wade Belak, a AAA Stars alumnus.
Proceeds from programs and jersey auctions from that Jan. 5 game will go to a fund for Belak's daughters, with a large crowd anticipated for that contest.
