Despite winning 4-1 Tuesday night, the Battlefords North Stars chances at first place have evaporated.
The North Stars beat the Melfort Mustangs, but Humboldt also won their game Tuesday and secured first place in the Bauer Conference and Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
The North Stars improved to 39-15-0-2 on the season and earned their seventh win this season against the Mustangs.
The flu bug passed through the North Stars roster forcing Travis Sparrow, Kyle Hall and Graham Hildebrand out of the lineup. Boyd Wakelin was also sidelined, but is close to returning from his injury. Melfort also were short-staffed Tuesday dressing only 10 forwards and six defencemen, one being an affiliated player.
Connor Creech started in net for the North Stars and made 31 saves including a beautiful post-to-post pad save in the first period, his best of the night, to keep the North Stars in control.
Braeden Johnson started the scoring for the North Stars in the first period, as he fired home his 19th goal of the season blocker side on Jesse Wilkins. Johnson snaps a streak where he had just one goal in eight games. Roger Tagoona and affiliated player Carter Danczak drew the assists on the goal.
Danczak earned his first Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League point in his first game.
In the second period, Jordan Ethier scored his 15th of the season from Brody Luhning and Woody Klassen on the power play and that would hold up to be the game-winning goal.
Early in the third, Blake Tatchell scored his team-leading 42nd goal of the season on a beautiful deke around a Mustangs' defender and goaltender Wilkins before tucking the puck into the open net. Matt Sheeran earned the assist on the insurance marker. Tatchell's goal puts him three behind Weyburn's Jesse Ross for the league lead and seven back in the point race.
Anthony Pickering broke Creech's shutout bid, as he jumped on a rebound five minutes into the third period making it 3-1.
Both teams had power play opportunities later in the period, but it was a shorthanded-empty net goal by Tim Rollins that closed out the scoring. After a huge body check by Klassen on Steven Jean, the North Stars' defenceman moved the puck up the wall and Rollins raced after the puck and slid it into the gaping net.
The North Stars are now one win shy of 40, which would make them only the sixth team in the past six seasons to reach 40 wins and the first of those teams not to finish first in the SJHL.
Humboldt is 40-11-2-3 and although they won't beat their record of 48 wins (2007-08) they will be the fourth Broncos team since the 2006-07 season to have 40 or more wins.
The North Stars now wait a see if Nipawin will hold on to third spot or if La Ronge, who are one point back, will move up the standings. The North Stars will play the third place team the first weekend in March.
Before that, the North Stars will wrap up their regular season the way they started it with a home-and-home series with Kindersley. Sunday the North Stars will be in Kindersley and Tuesday will be the final regular season game on home ice. The final game should produce the third straight game with more than 1,000 fans.
