A day after winning a run-and-gun style game over the Flin Flon Bombers, the Battlefords North Stars had a much more balanced approach to things Saturday night at the Whitney Fourm.
The North Stars completed a weekend sweep on a strong note as they became the first team to shutout the Bombers all year with a 3-0 victory.
“Our expectation is to get the four points every weekend and we were able to do that,” North Stars head coach and general manager Nate Bedford said.
“Flin Flon is a very good team and we knew that we had to give our best effort against them. I felt we were able to do for 125 minutes this weekend and the guys did a really good job.”
When asked what the biggest difference was between the two games, Bedford pointed to the North Stars’ resiliency.
“We gave up 42 shots on goal on Friday and that’s not our game at all,” Bedford said.
“Our first goal was to minimize their shots on goal, which we did, along with doing the little things right. We’re going to grow here as a group, and we’ve been working a lot on blocking shots and minimizing the other team’s odd-man rushes. I thought we did a good job of that tonight compared to what we have done in the past.”
Connor Sych led the way on offence with a pair of goals in the second period and he also assisted on Logan Nachtegaele’s empty-net goal in the third frame.
“Connor took two penalties early in the game and he’s such a good player for us that it become a big loss for our team,” Bedford said.
“I was really hard him and told him that I didn’t like the fact that he was in the penalty box, and then he came out and scored two goals for us. He responded the right way and he played extremely well along with Kendall Fransoo.”
Joel Grzybowski continued his impressive start to his SJHL career on Saturday as he picked up his second shutout of the season with a 27 save performance.
The 17-year-old from Hafford now has a 4-0-0 record in is rookie campaign and a 0.55 goals against average.
“Taryn (Kotchorek) faced a ton of shots yesterday in high scoring areas and we did a better job of minimizing their chances today,” Bedford said.
“Joel was really solid and that’s what you want to see as a coach. He’s been in control of things since we got here and that’s what we expect to see out of both goalies. Both Joel and Taryn were excellent for us this weekend.”
The North Stars, who have won their last four games and now have an 8-3-0-0 record, will continue their five-game road trip Thursday in Wilcox when they will go up against the Notre Dame Hounds.
Saturday’s SJHL Recap
A night after falling to their archrivals, the Yorkton Terriers earned a measure of revenge on the Melville Millionaires.
Jared Legien scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner in overtime, as the former Kootenay Ice forward helped his new side pick up a 4-3 win at home over their Highway 10 rivals.
Matt Vernon, the son of former NHL goaltender Mike, made 33 saves to earn his first SJHL win.
The Millionaires were led on offence by a pair of goals from Tyler Kreklewich. Evan Plotnik turned aside 22 shots in his first game for the team after being acquired in a trade with the Melfort Mustangs earlier this week.
Nathan Hargrave picked up his second shutout of the season for the Weyburn Red Wings as he stopped all 32 shots he faced in a 6-0 win over the La Ronge Ice Wolves.
Red Wings captain Mike Eskra had three assists in the victory while Landon Walters and Ian Park each had a goal and an assist.
The Ice Wolves have lost their nine games and have a 1-11-0-0 record.
In Melfort, the Kindersley Klippers picked up their fourth straight victory with a 4-2 triumph over the host Mustangs.
Cole Young and Cole Plotnikoff led a balanced offensive attack for the Klippers with a goal and an assist, while Gunnar Nielsen made 27 saves in between the pipes.
Dakota Boutin and Adam Herfott scored for the Mustangs, who are mired in a eight game losing streak.
SJHL Standings (After Saturday)
Finning Division
1. Humboldt Broncos – 8-1-0-1 – 17 points
2. Battlefords North Stars – 8-3-0-0 – 16 points
3. Notre Dame Hounds – 5-4-0-1 – 11 points
4. Kindersley Klippers – 5-3-0-0 – 10 points
Sherwood Division
1. Flin Flon Bombers – 6-2-1-1 – 14 points
2. Nipawin Hawks – 4-2-2-0 – 10 points
3. Melfort Mustangs – 3-7-0-1 – 7 points
4. La Ronge Ice Woves – 1-11-0-0 – 2 points
Viterra Division
1. Weyburn Red Wings – 7-3-0-1 – 15 points
2. Estevan Bruins – 6-2-0-1 – 13 points
3. Melville Millionaires – 4-6-1-0 – 9 points
4. Yorkton Terriers – 3-4-2-0 – 8 points
SJHL Scoring Race (After Saturday)
1. Chris Van Os-Shaw (Humboldt) – 17 points
2. Ben Duperreault (Notre Dame – 16 points
3. Trevor Posch (Humboldt) – 15 points
4. Kaelan Holt (Estevan) – 14 points
5. Daniel McKirtirck (Humboldt) – 14 points
6. Matt McNeil (Estevan) – 13 points
7. Reed Delainey (Battlefords) – 13 points
8. Carson Rose (Weyburn) – 11 points
9. Adam Dawe (Notre Dame) – 11 points
10. Connor Logan (Battlefords) – 11 points
11. Lynnden Pastachak (Estevan) – 11 points
12. Regan Seiferling (Yorkton) - 11 points
Tuesday’s SJHL Schedule
- Estevan vs. Yorkton – 7:30 p.m.
