The Flin Flon Bombers (17-7-5-4) were on a six-game losing streak when they came to the Civic Centre Friday.
They ended 2014 on a two-game winning streak as they took back-to-back games from the Battlefords North Stars (17-11-6-0) Friday and Saturday.
Friday, the North Stars seemed to struggle more with each passing period in a 3-0 loss.
Adam Beukeboom made 23 saves for his third shutout of the season, though many of those shots weren't quality scoring chances.
Former Battlefords AAA Star Tyson Empey got the scoring started for the Bombers six minutes into the first when he took a slick back-hand pass from Parker Evans Campbell from behind the net, and fired a wrist shot under the glove of Spencer Tremblay. Brandon Switzer got the second assist.
Battlefords captain Ryne Keller nearly tied the game later in the first, when he and Nick Fountain found themselves completely alone in front of Beukeboom. After Fountain slipped a backhand pass to Keller at the side of the net, he was robbed of a sure goal when Beukeboom laid flat on his stomach and stretched out the right pad to stop the shot.
The shots ended 12-10 in favour of the Bombers, despite two power play opportunities or the North Stars. They would finish the game 0-for-4 on the man advantage.
Mid-way through the second, the North Stars ran into some penalty trouble of their own.
1:40 after Fountain was charged for tripping, Danys Chartrand made him pay when he scored on what appeared to be a deflection off something in front of the net, and over the glove of Tremblay for a 2-0 lead.
Less than 30 seconds after the goal, Baxter Kanter was sent to the box for roughing, although the Bombers were unable to take advantage.
Flin Flon did extend their lead to 3-0 with just over a minute left in the period however, when Alex Smith scored his fourteenth of the year, with the assists going to former North Star Braden Lacoursiere, and Joel Kocur.
The North Stars managed just eight shots on net, compared to 14 for the Bombers in the second period.
The third period is one the North Stars would like to forget.
Not only did they only take five shots on goal through 20 minutes, they seemed to struggle controlling the puck, and were unable to get anything going in a period where they needed a bounce-back effort.
In the rematch Saturday, the North Stars came out with a better effort in the first, registering 12 shots on goal, with three power play opportunities.
Once again, the North Stars anemic power play was their downfall, as they finished the game just 1-for-8.
The second period might haunt the North Stars over the Christmas break.
In a span of 6:03, the Bombers pumped Tremblay for five goals, the last of which ended in him being pulled from the net.
Dean Allison, Empey, Smith, Kristian St. Onge and former North Star Austin Evans all scored for the Bombers, in what was one of those situations where everything they threw at the net, found it's way past Tremblay.
The shots were unsurprisingly heavily in the Bombers favour, at 18-8, and 25-20 after two periods.
The North Stars showed major signs of life in the third however.
Just 1:05 into the frame, Jake McMillen knocked a loose puck beside the net past Beukeboom on the power play for his seventh of the year. Reed Delainey and Michael Statchuk were given assists.
Six and a half minutes later, Jordan Townsend found a hole under the arm of Beukeboom when he came flying down the right wing and sniped his eighth of the year to cut the Bombers lead to three with 12:27 left to play.
The North Stars weren't able to narrow the gap until it was already too late, when Fountain grabbed his ninth of the year from Delainey and McMillen with 35 seconds remaining in the game.
Ryan Rewarts stopped all 15 shots he faced in relief.
Battlefords heads into the Christmas break in third place in the Kramer division, 14 points behind the Kindersley Klippers, and three points behind the Notre Dame Hounds.
They don't play another SJHL game until Jan. 8 when they welcome the La Ronge Ice Wolves (13-18-2-2), although they are travelling south to Minnesota to play an exhibition game against the North American Hockey League's Minnesota Magicians (13-20-0) before then.
