It took a little bit for the Battlefords North Stars to get going Tuesday night, but once they did the Humboldt Broncos didn’t have an answer for them.
Down 2-0 until the final stages of the second period, the North Stars scored three unanswered goals as they improved to 5-0-1 with a 3-2 overtime triumph at the Civic Centre.
“We came out flat and we talked about really focusing on the backcheck more during the first intermission,” North Stars forward MacGregor Sinclair said. “We did that and we got rewarded with our first goal at the end of the second period, and we kept that level of play up in the third period and in overtime.
“Obviously we’ve had a bit of a layoff since our last game (an 8-6 win over the Estevan Bruins at the SJHL showcase in Saskatoon) but that’s a bad excuse to try and blame our start on that. I think we may have taken Humboldt a bit lightly and now we know that we can’t take any team for granted out there.”
Sinclair was the hero of Tuesday’s game as he fired a shot past Broncos netminder Jacob Wassermann with 1:18 to go in the extra frame.
“Humboldt was hemming us in for awhile there and [North Stars goaltender] Taryn [Kotchorek] saved our line there with a huge save,” Sinclair said.
“Layne [Young] and Levi [Kleiboer] went up on a two-on-one rush and I don’t know what Humboldt was doing but they left me pretty wide open for a shot. I guess their goalie was expecting something different from me as I was able to put the shot in.”
Kleiboer kickstarted his team’s comeback as he scored with five seconds remaining in the second period and tied the game up just 61 seconds into the third stanza.
“I think once the boys got their feet moving we were able to get some bounces going our way,” Klieboer said. “On the first goal, it was a four-on-four situation and their guys got running around a little bit. [Cody] Spagrud made an unreal pass to me at the point and Keith [Anderson] was blocking their goalie so he had no idea where the puck was coming from.
“It was another four-on-four play on that second goal and everyone went to Troy (Gerein) when he had the puck. I was able to get the pass from him when I moved into the slot and I was able to put it in.”
Kleiboer also had an assist on Sinclair’s overtime winning goal while Anderson finished up the night with two helpers.
Taryn Kotchorek made 40 saves to earn the victory, with his best stop coming in the third period as he made a lunging stick save to stop a tip in front of the net by Derek Patter.
Kaleb Dahlgren and Evan Thomas both found the back of the net for the Broncos, who received a 34-save performance from Wassermann.
The North Stars will have another lengthy layoff until their next game, which will be held at the Civic Centre on Friday, Oct. 13 against the Melville Millionaires.
“Going from playing three games in less than 48 hours like we did during the showcase to playing one game in about 17 days is pretty tough,” Sinclair said. “However, we’ve been having really good practices and I think that allows us to be at a good level coming into these games.
“Melville gave us a good test when we played them in Saskatoon and I’m sure they are going to be wanting to take a couple of points from us. We can’t take them lightly.”
The North Stars have also made a minor move to their roster as forward Dayden Dvernichuk has been reassigned to the Prairie Junior Hockey League’s Delisle Chiefs.
Dvernichuk, who has an assist in two games with the Chiefs, will remain an affiliated player with the North Stars.
Tuesday SJHL Recap
The Kindersley Klippers fired 53 shots at La Ronge Ice Wolves netminder Luke Lush Tuesday evening as they picked up a 5-3 road win at the Mel Hegland Uniplex.
Defenceman Brody Ryberg led the way for the Klippers with a goal and two assists, while their other goals came from Cameron Shorrock, Noah Turanski, Will Van Der Sloot and Jordan Funk.
Bryce Fiske, Blaise Arkle and Derek Fratter all found the back of the net for the Ice Wolves, who received two-assist performances from Connor Smith and Drayton Thunder Chief.
The Klippers also made a trade prior to their trip to La Ronge as they dealt forward Mason Fischer to the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Bonnyville Pontiacs.
The 19-year-old from Medicine Hat, Alta. had an assist in six games this year for the Klippers, who acquired him from the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats last season.
In the other game on the schedule, the Weyburn Red Wings also had five different players score for them in a 5-2 triumph over the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox.
Tyran Brown, Jeremy Velazquez, Connor Pyne, Ben Hiltz and Cade Kowalski all found the back of the net, while Erik Olson and Mike Eskra had a pair of assists in the win.
Alec Zawatsky paced the Hounds offence in defeat as he scored a goal and set up Chaz Smedsrud’s marker.
Elsewhere, the Yorkton Terriers acquired 19-year-old forward Brad Girard from the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlys on Tuesday night in exchange for 17-year-old forward Dalton Ossman.
Girard, who is from Slave Lake, Alta., was tied for second in scoring for the Grizzlys at the time of the deal with nine points in seven games.
Ossman, a native of Calgary, had a goal in four games for the Terriers after being acquired from the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks earlier this summer.
SJHL Players of the Week
The Estevan Bruins and Flin Flon Bombers shared the honours Monday as the SJHL announced their players of the week for the period from Sept. 25 to Oct. 1.
Bruins forward Zach Goberis won the top player accolades after putting up 11 points in four games while his teammate Mark Edmands was named defenceman of the week after scoring a goal and setting up three others in four games.
The Bombers were represented by goaltender Brendan Newton, who was the top netminder of the week after stopping 79 of 82 shots and putting up a 2-0-1 record, while forward Ethan Daniels was named rookie of the week after scoring two goals and picking up two assists in three games.
CJHL Top 20 Rankings
Thanks to an 8-0 start, the Melfort Mustangs have moved up one spot to be the second ranked team in the country in the latest Canadian Junior Hockey League Top 20 rankings that came out Monday.
The Battlefords North Stars also raced up the rankings as they leapt from 19th place all the way up to eighth.
The BCHL’s Penticton Vees remain in first place overall, while the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers, the QJHL’s Terrebonne Cobras and the SIJHL’s Thief River Falls Norskies round out the top five.
The MHL’s Edmundston Blizzard and the SIJHL’s Thunder Bay North Stars join the top five teams in having undefeated records are in sixth and seventh respectively.
Wednesday SJHL Schedule
- Estevan vs. Notre Dame – 7:30 p.m.
- Kindersley vs. La Ronge – 7:30 p.m.
Standings
Olympic Buildings Division
1. Battlefords North Stars – 11 points (5-0-1 – 3W)
2. Humboldt Broncos – 9 points (4-2-1 – 1L)
3. Notre Dame Hounds – 8 points (3-3-1-1 – 3L)
4. Kindersley Klippers – 7 points (3-3-1 – 1W)
Sherwood Division
1. Melfort Mustangs – 16 points (8-0 – 8W)
2. Flin Flon Bombers – 10 points (4-1-0-2 – 2W)
3. Nipawin Hawks – 8 points (3-1-1-1 – 1L)
4. La Ronge Ice Wolves – 3 points (1-5-0-1 – 3L)
Viterra Division
1. Estevan Bruins – 12 points (6-2 – 3W)
2. Weyburn Red Wings – 7 points (3-2-1 – 1W)
3. Melville Millionaires – 5 points (2-5-0-1 – 1W)
4. Yorkton Terriers – 4 points (1-5-2 – 7L)
Scoring Race
1. Zach Goberis (Estevan) – 20 points (9 goals and 11 assists)
2. Michael McChesney (Estevan) – 16 points (10 goals and 6 assists)
3. Layne Young (Battlefords) – 16 points (6 goals and 10 assists)
4. Chrystopher Collin (Flin Flon) – 10 points (8 goals and 2 assists)
5. Dakota Huebner (Battlefords) – 10 points (4 goals and 6 assists)
Goals Against Average Leaders
1. Brendan Newton (Flin Flon) – 1.69 (4-1-0-2)
2. Evan Plotnik (Melfort) – 1.73 (8-0-0)
3. Jake Anthony (Nipawin) – 1.91 (2-0-0-1)
4. Kolby Matthews (Battlefords) – 2.00 (1-0-0)
5. Jacob Wasserman (Humboldt) – 2.18 (2-1-1)
