The mistakes were minimal, but when a team is slumping, minimal is too much.
"If that's what it's gotta take - gotta play mistake free to get a win - then that's what we have to do. So it's back to the drawing board," said North Stars head coach Kevin Hasselberg following the team's loss Tuesday.
It was the final game of a four-game home stand for the North Stars, but the team is still winless at the Civic Centre.
"We just want to get the first one and get out of this slump. The effort's been there, but the results haven't, and it's the results we want to find right now," said Hasselberg.
The North Stars looked like a different team Tuesday in comparison to their games over the weekend. The team was more disciplined, played hard for a full 60 minutes and didn't get hemmed in their own zone.
However, it was those mistakes Hasselberg alluded to that eventually came back to bite the team. The North Stars played mistake free hockey and stayed out of the penalty box for 13 minutes and generated an abundance of scoring chances to no avail. But, when Dillon Forbes was back checking and got called for a trip, it all unravelled. Forbes spent only 15 seconds in the penalty box before Landon Farrell tapped in a cross-crease pass from Tyson Predinchuk to make it 1-0.
In previous games when their hard work went without reward, the North Stars would lose momentum and the game would get lopsided. However, after the opening goal Tuesday, the North Stars came right back and continued to play hard. They kept up the hard-hitting style fans are used to seeing from them, but picked their spots better and avoided the unnecessary roughing, hitting from behind and hitting to the head penalties that were plaguing them recently.
It took more than 27 minutes, but finally the North Stars were able to solve Millionaires goaltender Isaiah Plett. Juicy rebounds were plentiful and finally Austin Evans was able to capitalize on one. An Alex Bechtold shot came off Plett's pads and right to Evans, who made no mistake in hitting the large opening in the net to tie the game.
Evans looked relieved after scoring and it finally looked like the North Stars could snap out of their six-game losing streak.
Not so fast.
No matter how many chances the North Stars had, Plett was up to the challenge. Then, less than three minutes into the third period, Melville scored a timely goal, something the North Stars have seen too much of lately from their opposition. Adam Dibella let a wrist shot go from a few steps inside the blue line, beating Casey Parker five-hole.
A couple minutes later, Brady Constant scored to make it 3-1 and the script was looking all too familiar for the North Stars - outplay, outshoot and out chance the opposing team and come out on the losing end because of unbeatable goaltending.
Nick Fountain was able to register his third of the year one minute later, but third period deficits haven't been something the North Stars have been able to overcome on their losing streak.
The Millionaires were playing back on their heels for the rest of the third until another bad bounce backfired on the North Stars. The puck came ringing around the boards and beat the pinching North Stars defenceman, giving Melville a two-on-one. Kelvin Walz came down the right side and elected to shoot, beating Parker short side and effectively ending any comeback chances.
Hasselberg appreciated the effort his team showed and said the little details are what they need to work on now. After taking 74 combined penalty minutes in their previous two games, the North Stars took only 10 Tuesday. It's a big step for them as they look to put a hold on their league-leading 382 penalty minutes.
"We didn't take a lot of penalties tonight, but the bad one we did take ended up in the back of our net. Again, that's how fine the details are with our game and our lack of success," said Hasselberg. "We can't afford to take one bad penalty, and being the most penalized team in the league, referees are watching us."
The North Stars fell to 4-12 on the season with the 4-2 loss and haven't won in seven home games. They will need to sort their problems out on the road as they play their next three games in Estevan, Notre Dame and Weyburn. The next game at the Civic Centre for the North Stars is Nov. 8.
