Having a strong offence is always a good thing.
A well spread-out goal scoring attack can help make you one of the best teams in your league.
That proved to be the key to the Battlefords North Stars' success Tuesday night at the Civic Centre, as 14 different players got on the score sheet in their 8-2 win over the Kindersley Klippers.
“We were very balanced tonight through all four lines and with all six defencemen,” North Stars general manager and head coach Nate Bedford said.
“Everyone takes a lot of pride in being out on the ice and no one wants to be in a fourth line situation. If the guys work hard and keep playing the right way, they won’t be in that role.”
The balanced attack was similar to what took place two weeks ago in Estevan, where the North Stars cruised to a dominant 10-3 triumph over the host Bruins.
“We’re pretty confident right now with every line,” said forward Connor Logan, who had a pair of goals and an assist in Tuesday’s win. “We’ve also had a good forecheck and that’s what worked for us tonight.
“Our chemistry has really started to build over the last couple of weeks. We have a lot of skilled guys in our lineup and that makes it a lot of fun at practice as we all work together to become a good team.”
Blueliner Conor Jensen matched Logan’s offensive output Tuesday as he dished out three helpers, which is the most points he’s had a single Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League game.
“It’s pretty easy when you have wide-open teammates to pass the puck to,” Jensen said.
“I’ve been gaining more confidence in each game and I’m starting to get up into the rush a little bit more. All of the defencemen on this team are very skilled and we’re all looking at being more involved in the offence.”
Layne Young found the back of the net twice on the power play, which moved him into a tie for the SJHL lead in goals with Estevan’s Kaelan Holt and Humboldt’s Chris Van Os-Shaw with 12 each.
Cody Spagrud, Troy Gerein, Bryce Hall and Brett Horn also scored for the North Stars, while Ben Allen and McGregor Sinclair each had a pair of assists.
Joel Grzybowski made 16 saves to improve to 6-1-0-0 for the season.
The Klippers, who are in fourth place in the SJHL’s Finning Division with a 6-9-0-0 mark, got their goals from Kyle Bosch and Branden Wagner.
“That was the worst night we’ve had since I’ve been a part of this organization,” Klippers general manager and head coach Geoff Grimwood said.
“We’re not at Battlefords' level right now, but an 8-2 loss is not our level either. There’s no easy answer here and we’re all going to have to take a good look in the mirror to see what’s going on.”
The North Stars, who now have a 12-5-0-0 record, have won their last four games and remain three points back of the Humboldt Broncos for first place in the Finning Division.
Erik Gardiner completed a hat-trick with an overtime goal Tuesday to give the Broncos a 6-5 overtime win over the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox, and helped maintain his team’s three-point cushion.
Next up for the North Stars will be a pair of home games this weekend, as they will host the Yorkton Terriers Friday and entertain the Notre Dame Hounds Saturday.
“Yorkton works hard and they are a quick team,” Bedford said. “Our biggest key against them will be to limit their odd-man rushes and we will need to outwork them from start to finish.
“Notre Dame is capable of scoring at any time so we’ll have to key in on their top guys and be quick in our transitional play. If they are chasing us around, we’ll be in good shape.”
Both games will get underway at 7:30 p.m.
