The Battlefords North Stars have finally earned a top-five spot in the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Top 20 poll.
In the most recent rankings that were released Monday, the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League regular season champions moved up two spots to fifth place.
The North Stars were ranked seventh last week and moved ahead of the Quebec Junior Hockey League’s Longueuil College Francais and Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Powassan Voodoos, who both fell in the latest rankings.
First place belongs to the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, followed by the Georgetown Raiders of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, the Terrebonne Cobras of the Quebec Junior Hockey League and the Steinbach Pistons of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
In their most recent game at the Civic Centre Saturday, the North Stars picked up their 13th straight win over the Humboldt Broncos by a score of 3-0.
On a night where he cracked the 50-goal plateau in his SJHL career, Coby Downs provided all of the offence for the North Stars as he picked up a hat trick.
Downs previously scored three goals in a game on Jan. 2, 2016 in a 6-2 win at home over the Kindersley Klippers.
“The whole line (which includes Ben Allen and Layne Young) was just rolling tonight,” Downs said. “We’ve been getting our chances over the last few games, but we just weren’t able to bury the puck into the back of the net.
“We talked before the game on how we all needed to bare down more when it came to our scoring chances, especially with the playoffs starting in a couple of weeks.”
Downs also had a unique celebration when he scored on an empty-net in the third period, as he donned on a Seattle Seahawks hat that was tossed from the crowd.
“I skated over towards the guys and I saw the hat on the ice,” Downs said. “I figured I might as well try it on for a couple of seconds.”
Allen and Young had assists on all three of the goals Downs scored.
Saturday’s win was also highlighted by a 23-save performance from Joel Grzybowski, as the North Stars rookie netminder picked up his fifth shutout of the season.
“I was pretty busy in the first period compared to the other two periods, but I was happy with how I played,” Grzybowski said. “My rebound control was a little bit off, so that’s something I’ll be working on in practice.”
After making 13 saves in the first period, Grzybowski only faced a pair of shots in the second frame and eight more during the third period.
“When you get into a situation like that where you aren’t facing a lot of shots, it’s important to have a really good mindset to stay focused on the game,” Grzybowski said.
“That was a major key to my success tonight, along with what the guys we’re doing in front of me.”
Garrett Mason made 40 saves for the Broncos, who last defeated their Finning Division rivals on Jan. 28, 2015 in Humboldt.
The North Stars will look to improve upon their 44-8-10 record Wednesday night when they visit the Kindersley Klippers.
Following a visit to the Nipawin Hawks Friday, the North Stars will host the Notre Dame Hounds in a 7:30 p.m. contest Saturday.
Prior to the game, the North Stars will be taking part in a free skating event at the Civic Centre starting at 12:15 p.m.
The event, which will run until 1:45 p.m., will allow fans to get an autograph from their favourite North Stars and will also see free hot chocolate and Timbits available to all in attendance.
