Travis Mayan scored early in the first period, and late in the third as the Melfort Mustangs (17-5-1-4) doubled up the Battlefords North Stars (15-6-5-0) Friday night.
With two goals and an assist, Mayan moved into a tie for first in league scoring with Kindersley's Owen LaClare with 34 points in 27 games.
It was a chippy game that saw many coincidental minor penalties called, as both teams were slashing and punching each other at every opportunity.
Just 1:38 into the first period, Mayan snapped a wrist shot that snuck under the right arm of North Stars' goalie Spencer Tremblay to give the Mustangs an early 1-0 lead. Justin Boyer and Tristan Frei picked up assists on the goal.
Despite three power-play opportunities, it took the North Stars until the 17:31 mark of the first to even the score, when Reed Delainey scored his 12th of the season.
Earlier in the day, it was announced that Delainey had been named to the Canada West selection camp for the 2014 World Junior A Challenge in Kindersley, Dec. 14-20.
The North Stars finished the period 0 for 3 on the power-play, and would finish the game 0 for 6.
While the shot total was rather pedestrian at 9-8 in favour of Battlefords in the first, it was more lopsided in the second.
A 16-7 shot advantage for the Mustangs turned into a 2-1 lead after two periods, as Cole Hyrsky chipped a puck over Tremblay with just 16 seconds remaining in the period. Landon Robin and Mayan gathered assists on the late goal
That goal may have taken some wind out of the North Stars sails, as after Baxter Kanter was called for hooking 3:30 into the final frame, Robin made the North Stars pay when he scored on the power play to make it 3-1. Adam Fauchoux and Krysky assisted on the goal.
The North Stars weren't able to have any extended puck control in the Mustangs zone for most of the third period, and with just under five minutes left, Mayan scored his second of the game to give the Mustangs a 4-1 lead. Andrew Durham was given the lone assist.
It wasn't until the last few minutes of the period that the North Stars were able to keep the puck in the Mustangs zone, and just 1:35 after Mayan made it 4-1, Jake McMillen threw a back-hander on net and snuck it past a screened Richard Palmer to give the North Stars some life.
Battlefords pulled the goalie to give them a 6-on-5 advantage, and Frei was called for slashing with exactly two minutes remaining in the game, making it a 6 on 4.
The puck stayed in the Melfort zone for seemingly the final four minutes of the game, but the North Stars were unable to solve Palmer again, and dropped a 4-2 decision.
The shots ended 33-29 in favour of the Mustangs, who travelled south to Kindersley for a Saturday match-up with the league leading Klippers, and dropped a 2-1 overtime decision.
The North Stars have three days off at home until Tuesday when they welcome the Melville Millionaires (13-14-0-1). Battlefords looks for more revenge after being eliminated in the playoffs by Melville last season, as they picked up a 5-2 win over the Millionaires back on Sept. 24.
