The Battlefords North Stars (15-9-5-0) played well on Saturday, but couldn’t put an end to their losing streak as they dropped a 3-2 decision to the defending RBC Cup champion Yorkton Terriers (10-15-1-2).
Friday, the North Stars were on the wrong side of a 6-2 loss to the Melville Millionaires (15-14-1-1) in a rematch from last Tuesday’s game, where the North Stars lost 4-1.
Melville opened the scoring nearly 15 minutes into the first period, when Lane Harbor scored his first of two goals on the night, assisted by Tanner Kyle and Landon Farrell.
The Millionaires controlled the majority of play in the first, as the shots were 17-8 in their favour.
The North Stars evened the score early in the second, when Ryne Keller scored his third of the season on the power play. Nick Fountain and Michael Statchuk were given assists on the goal.
That’s where the good news came to end for Battlefords however, as the Millionaires pumped three goals past Spencer Tremblay less than two minutes apart midway through the frame.
Dylan Ostertag, Farrell and Greyson Reitmeier scored 1:58 apart to chase Tremblay from the net, turning things over to Ryan Rewerts.
Tremblay allowed four goals on just eight shots, and Rewerts finished with 25 saves after coming into the game.
Just 1:49 after Rewarts took over, the Kreklewich brothers combined to score a short-handed goal, making it 5-1. Tyler scored his third goal in four games this season, assisted by his brother Jayden.
Depsite the one-sided scoring, the shots were 16-15 in favour of the Millionaires, as Troy Trombley stood tall in goal for Melville.
If there was any positives to take from Friday’s game for the North Stars, it was they scored two power play goals, but that number could have been higher as they had ten power play opportunities.
The third period had one goal for each team, as Jake Erickson, fresh of being named SJHL defenseman of the month, scored his third to make it 5-2.
Melville erased any comeback thoughts the North Stars had four minutes later though, when Harbor scored his second into an empty net, sealing the North Stars fate.
On Saturday, the North Stars jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 11:34 mark of the first when Matthew Saharchuk scored his twelfth of the year assisted by Ryne Keller.
It was teddy bear toss night in Yorkton, and when Carson Cayer scored with just 44 seconds left in the first, the teddy bears came raining down, sending both teams to their locker rooms,as the officials decided to end the period early, and play 20:44 in the second.
Battlefords regained their one goal lead at the 6:45 mark, when Nick Fountain scored on the power play, assisted by Jackson Bond.
Almost six minutes later though, Yorkton tied the score again, this time when Daylan Gatzke got one past Spencer Tremblay. Dallas Rossiter and Jordan Evans were given the assists.
The North Stars were dominating in the shot department through two, as they had a 28-16 lead despite the 2-2 score.
The only goal in the third came just over four minutes in, when Tyson Enzie scored an unassisted goal to give the Terriers the lead for good.
The North Stars had a great opportunity to tie the game in the final minute, when Rossiter was given a penalty for tripping with just 50 seconds left in the game.
The power play has been a weak spot for Battlefords all year however, and they were unable to capitalize, dropping a 3-2 decision.
Things don’t get any easier for the North Stars, as they welcome the league leading Kindersley Klippers (22-6-2-2) tomorrow.
Wednesday’s matchup will be the seventh game between the two teams this season. The North Stars have a 2-2-2 record against Kindersley this year.
