Although the team is only two games into the preseason, the Battlefords Midget Stars appear to already be in midseason form.
After beating Saskatoon easily 10-1 Friday, the Stars hosted their first home game Sunday afternoon against the Beardy's Blackhawks.
While game two wasn't as much of a blowout, it was still a dominant game from the home team.
A balanced attack by the Stars saw 11 of their players register at least one point and six had multiple appearances on the score sheet.
In a game that ended with a 7-4 Battlefords win, the team was bettered in the first period. Eight minutes in, the Blackhawks made it 1-0 when Lane Regnier scored from the slot after an Adam Merasty pass left him wide open with only the goalie, Justen Close, to beat.
Just over three minutes later, the Blackhawks made it 2-0 on a spectacular goal. Coming in on a breakaway, Reed Gunville fed the puck to Adam Santoro who scored his first of three goals from his knees, once again leaving no chance for Close to make the save.
With four minutes left, the Stars were on the back end of a four-minute power play when Connor Manegre took a wrist shot from the point that found its way through traffic and beat goaltender Taylor Unruh to cut the Blackhawks' lead in half. Braydon Buziak got the assist.
Beardy's swapped goaltenders for the second period and the Stars took no time to make incumbent Mitchell Canaday feel unwelcome. Twenty-six seconds in, number 26 Michael Korol tied the game on the rush with assists from Anthony Radke and Josh Laframboise.
The offence took a brief three-minute break before jumping all over Canaday once again. Buziak penciled his name onto the score sheet for the second time with a goal from Keifer Hintz and Jadyn Trimble.
Just a minute and a half later, Laframboise got the first of his two goals and his second point of the game as he beat Canaday as well. Josh Bly, who was fooling Blackhawks' defenders all game, and Graham Gove got the assists.
Shortly after, Bly's stick handling paid off in the form of a goal. Coming down the left side of the ice on a two-on-one, Bly dangled around a sprawled out Blackhawks' defender who had blocked the passing lane and took the puck right through the crease and snuck it past Canaday's pad. Gove registered another assist, his second of three, along with Kaleb Dahlgren.
With the score 5-2 as the third period began, both teams made goaltending changes. Unruh came back in for Beardy's and Matthew Flath took to the crease for the Stars.
After scoring 26 seconds into the second period, Battlefords started the third even quicker. Rushing in off the opening faceoff, Dahlgren tickled the twine for the Stars just 18 seconds in, giving no chance for Unruh to get comfortable in the net. Bly and Gove each got their second assists on the play.
The quick tally did nothing in the way of a momentum boost as the Blackhawks scored 20 seconds later on a goal from Adam Santoro, his second, with assists from Logan Schatz and Ashton Wake.
There was a 13-minute break in between goals, which seemed like a lifetime in this high scoring affair. With six minutes left, Laframboise scored for the second time and Radke and Keegan McBride got helpers.
With the game almost over, Santoro got his hat trick marker for the Blackhawks from Schatz and Wake with 37 seconds left.
The Stars play one more exhibition game before the season starts, although they don't appear to need any more practice. The team had an effective power play and penalty kill in Sunday's game and looked comfortable playing with one another. They're back in action Thursday night as they play the Saskatoon Blazers for the second time, but the Stars get home ice advantage this time. The regular season opens up Sept. 28 with a home game against the Regina Pat Canadians.
