A trip to Pinehouse looked to be bringing a similar result for the Battlefords North Stars.
Although they did capture their fourth straight win, and their 17th in their last 18 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League games, the North Stars almost let a three-goal lead slip away in a 3-2 triumph over the La Ronge Ice Wolves Wednesday night.
“I think it was a situation where the guys feel like that we’re going to win every game and the focus got away from us after we went up 3-0,” North Stars general manager and head coach Nate Bedford said.
“We didn’t do a good job of taking care of things in our own end, and if we want to have a chance to win a championship, we need to be much better defensively on the road.”
Bedford was also quick to praise the effort of the Ice Wolves, who have a league worst 6-20-0-4 record and are 11 points behind the Kindersley Klippers and Melville Millionaires for the 10th and final playoff spot.
“They wanted it more than we did,” Bedford said. “They were really good on the forecheck and they were way more physical than we were tonight.”
Kendall Fransoo, Coby Downs and Owen Lamb all scored for the North Stars, with Jayden Nachtegaele, Connor Logan and Reed Delainey all picking up assists.
Although he didn’t have any points in the win, Bedford was very pleased by the performance from forward Bryce Hall.
“He’s really stepped up over the last few games,” Bedford said. “He’s willing to take hits and sacrifice himself for the team, and he’s ready to go back out on the ice and do it all again on the very next shift.
“He’s not a big guy out there, but he’s as tough as they come and he’s also been playing well offensively. We’re extremely happy with how’s he been doing over the last little bit.”
Taryn Kotchorek made 30 saves to earn his 13th win of the season.
Derek Patter scored a pair of goals for the Ice Wolves, while Aaron MacKay turned aside 23 shots in the loss.
Wednesday’s contest marked the second straight year that the North Stars and Ice Wolves have played a neutral site game in Pinehouse.
The North Stars picked up a 1-0 win in their previous meeting on Dec. 12, 2015.
“I would love to see some more games here,” Bedford said. “The fans were fantastic, and even though the rink was a little bit cold, it had that old-time hockey feeling.”
Next up for the North Stars, who have a 25-6-0-0 record and are five points ahead of the Estevan Bruins in the race for first place in the SJHL standings, is a Friday night meeting with the Yorkton Terriers at the Civic Centre.
Levi Kleiboer, Cody Spagrud and Layne Young are all expected to be back with the team Friday after the trio missed out on making the final roster for the Canada West team that will be competing at the World Junior A Challenge.
