Chris Van Os-Saw's power-play goal with 5:35 left in the third period gave the Prince Albert Mintos a 2-1 win over the Battlefords Stars Thursday night at the Civic Centre.
The loss snapped the Stars' seven-game win streak. It was the first loss for the Stars since Sept. 27.
The Stars had plenty of quality chances to open the scoring in the first period. While in close on Mintos goaltender Taylor UnRuh, Layne Young was unable to jam the puck past the goalie's pad. Later, Brandon Lesko made a centring pass from the corner to Young, but the Stars forward sent the puck wide of the net.
The penalty kill was also impressive for the Stars as they seemed to have more scoring chances than the Mintos. On one attempt, Young was sent in alone on a breakaway, but the puck rolled off his stick as he made his move on net.
In the second, it was the Mintos' turn to get shorthanded opportunities. Van Os-Saw was stopped by Stars goaltender Brett Pongracz on a rush. Brett Harasymuk followed up with a shot after collecting the rebound, but Pongracz turned him aside as well.
As play moved the other way, Kaelen Holt split the Mintos' defence, but was stopped by UnRuh. Kyle Sallaway collected the rebound, but his shot missed the net.
The game's first goal was scored by the Mintos in the third period. Kody White's shot hit a Stars defender in front of the net. Riley Sawchuk picked it up and made a backdoor pass to Keegan Tiringer, who tapped the puck into the empty net for a 1-0 Prince Albert lead.
Less than two minutes later, the Stars tied the game. Derek Frater found Keegan McBride alone in the slot. McBride's quick wrist shot beat UnRuh under his blocker to tie the game.
Prince Albert followed the goal with pressure and two quality scoring chances. First, on a two-on-one rush, Brody Maradash kept the puck and fired a shot on net, but Pongracz made the stop with his blocker. Later, Maradash received a pass in the slot, but his shot was blocked by Stars defender Traye Tkatchuk.
The penalties eventually caught up to the Stars. With 7:27 left in the third, Holt was sent to the box for interference, his second penalty of the period. In the dying seconds of the power-play Pongracz stopped Chase Tippett's shot, but couldn't control the rebound. Reed Gunville and Van Os-Saw both had whacks at the loose puck before Van Os-Saw knocked it into the Stars net for the 2-1 lead.
The Stars turned up the pressure in the final moments in an attempt to tie the game. With under three minutes, Dawson Bacon's shot went off of a Mintos player's skate. The puck went past UnRuh, but slid through the crease and into the corner of the rink.
UnRuh closed the door the rest of the way to end the Stars' win streak. He made 31 saves for the win. Pongracz stopped 26 shots in the loss for the Stars.
