Goaltender Graham Hildebrand came within .4 seconds of making it a perfect weekend for the Battlefords North Stars.
That was how far away Hildebrand was from a shutout Friday night against the Nipawin Hawks.
However, Nipawin managed to put one past the Battlefords' netminder to spoil the shut out bid, forcing the North Stars to settle for a 2-1 victory over the Hawks.
The next night the North Stars routed the Notre Dame Hounds 6-2 to complete the sweep on the weekend at home and moved the North Stars into first place in the Bauer Conference at 11-4-0-1 - good for 23 points, two ahead of Nipawin in the standings.
The marquee matchups of the weekend were the Friday night game against the Hawks, billed as a battle for first place. The North Stars came out strong in the first period, out shooting Nipawin 18-9.
At the 4:22 mark, Blake Tatchell scored his 10th of the season from Zach MacLellan and Brody Luhning to make it 1-0. Then at the 8:34 mark, with Nipawin's Scott Bollefer off for hooking, Tim Rollins scored on the power play from Braeden Johnson and Tatchell, to make it 2-0.
As it turned out, those two goals were all that the North Stars would need as Hildebrand stopped 32 of 33 Nipawin shots. Nipawin out shot the North Stars in the second and third periods while Nipawin's goalie Davis Jones stopped 30 of 32.
A spirited fight between Travis Sparrow and Wilson Dumais enlivened the second frame.
Nipawin, however, failed to dent the North Stars on the scoreboard until the dying seconds of the game, when Michael Lambert notched his second of the season to spoil Hildebrand's shut out bid. Jesse Williamson and Jeff Datoff notched the assists.
The next night saw the North Stars fill the net against Notre Dame. The North Stars got off to a good start in the first period with Brett Miller scoring from Tanner Schwab and Kyle Hall at 14:12.
The second saw Johnson get his sixth of the campaign from Tachell and MacLellan on the power play at 8:05. Jared Samboski scored his first from Graeden Turner and Tanner Quinn at 10:56 while Tatchell scored from Rollins and Johnson on the power play again at 12:43, to make it 4-0.
Notre Dame's Ben Morgan scored on the power play at 15:05 to round out the scoring in the second period.
The third period was the Tim Rollins show as he notched his seventh goal of the season from Johnson and Luhning, and then again with his eighth at the 3:53 mark from Johnson and Tatchell. Carson Grolla's power play marker finished the scoring for Notre Dame as the Stars romped 6-2.
It was Connor Creech getting the start in place of Hildebrand Saturday, and he rose to the occasion with 26 saves on 28 shots. Overall the North Stars outshot Notre Dame 33-28.
Also news from the North Stars from the weekend was the addition of Jake Daughtry, who drew into the North Stars' lineup Saturday night. The 1993-born forward from Victoria B.C. had his rights traded to the North Stars from the Manitoba Junior Hockey League's Winkler Flyers.
The North Stars also acquired the rights to 1993-born defenceman Matthew Sheeran. Sheeran comes to the Battlefords with an injury that will hold him out of the lineup for a month or more. The former Victoria Cougar will be with the team while he recovers from the injury.
The North Stars also traded forward Sam Prpich to the Neepawa Natives of the MJHL Tuesday. The 1991-born forward played 13 games and recorded one assist while in the Battlefords.
Tuesday, the North Stars were scheduled to host the La Ronge Ice Wolves and Friday the Battlefords North Stars face the Humboldt Broncos.
