NORTH BATTLEFORD - It's official: the Battlefords North Stars are in a slump.
They lost at home to the Melfort Mustangs 3-2 on Friday in overtime, marking their fourth defeat in a row and their third overtime defeat in the four games. They had lost to Weyburn in overtime, Notre Dame by one goal in regulation, and La Ronge in overtime prior to Friday.
It was a night in which both the Doell brothers -- Nolan from the Mustangs, Holden from the North Stars -- played prominent roles. Nolan got a third period goal to give the Mustangs the lead, but Holden got the tying goal late in the third period to force the game into overtime. In the end, it was a power play goal for Ben Tkachuk that gave the Mustangs the win.
GAME REPORT:
The game on Friday was on Toque and Mitten Toss Night to benefit the Battlefords District Food and Resource Centre, with items to be tossed on the first North Stars goal.
But the fans had to hang on to their toques and mitts for a long time -- over half the game, as it turned out, as the North Stars spent the early part of the contest badly outshot by the Mustangs.
The first period saw the Mustangs swarm all around Battlefords goaltender Michael Harroch the entire frame, as they badly outshot the North Stars 19-6. The North Stars were fortunate to be able to emerge from the first period in a scoreless tie with the Mustangs.
It was more of the same early in the second with the shot count standing at 26-7 Mustangs at one point. It was on that 26th shot that the Mustangs finally scored.
With Ethan Scriven in the box for holding, the Mustangs Curtis Hammond put the puck home on the rebound after it had appeared that the puck had hit a post and stayed out of the net.
With the North Stars still being outshot 31-13, they caught a break. The Mustangs’ Ben Tkachuk went to the box for tripping, and the Stars’ Emmett Wurst capitalized, scoring from Ryland McNinch and Riley Little at the 12:08 mark of the period.
That finally let loose the toques and mitts, which rained down from the fans at Access Communications Centre. Despite the Mustangs barrage, the North Stars had stayed even. Through two periods shots still favored the Mustangs, 35-14.
It did not take long in the third period for the Mustangs to retake the lead. Nolan Doell scored from Hayden Tuba just 21 seconds in to make it 2-1 Mustangs.
That was followed in short order by a massive scrap between the North Stars' Jordan Grill and Mustangs' Seth McCullough in front of Harroch's net, which landed them on the ice in a wrestling match. Both went off for fighting and game misconduct penalties but McCullough got an additional roughing penalty to give the North Stars a power play, which ultimately went nowhere.
A scary moment took place for North Stars fans with 15:44 remaining in the third, as Harroch was levelled by a shot that hit the bottom of his facemask. The trainer attended to Harroch as worried players looked on, but Harroch got up, put his facemask back on and stayed in the game.
A key moment came with 5:22 left as the Mustangs' Carter Anderson went to the box for tripping, giving the North Stars a much needed power play. But the Mustangs continued to frustrate the North Stars and successfully killed the penalty.
But the North Stars weren't finished. With 1:31 remaining, after a wild scramble on the night, Holden Doell scored from Tynan Ewart to tie the game, and send it to overtime. Shots stood at 40-22 for the Mustangs through three periods.
With 1:09 remaining in the three on three overtime, Riley Little took a holding penalty to give the Mustangs a golden opportunity to win it. With 46.4 seconds remaining Ben Tkachuk made no mistake as he beat Harroch to win the game for Melfort. Alex Moar got the assist.
Final shots favored the Mustangs 43-26. Despite the loss, the single point for overtime moved the North Stars into a tie with Flin Flon for third place overall. Meanwhile, Melfort's win pulled them within two points of the Bombers.
Next up for the North Stars is a road contest Saturday night in Nipawin. Meanwhile, Melfort heads to Kindersley.
