The North Stars' Casey Parker had earned Rookie of the Week honours recently, by not allowing a puck past him in about 127 consecutive minutes. But on Wednesday's game against the Flin Flon Bombers, it took four minutes for Flin Flon to beat him.
Riley Storzuk managed to beat Parker to put the Bombers up by one. By the end of the period, though, Flin Flon's Brock Hounsell was in the box for interference, and Kyle Hall notched the first North Stars' goal of the night with a shot that went off the post.
The contest had been back and forth all game, with few shots and few chances. The second period saw a good amount of continuous play, as the referees rarely had an opportunity to blow their whistles, giving out only one penalty all period to Brock Hounsell for cross checking. In the last few seconds of the period, though, Dillan McCombie was hooked from behind on a breakaway and given a penalty shot after the buzzer had gone for the period's end. Looking relaxed, McCombie easily snuck the puck through Parker's five-hole, to put the Bombers up 2-1 going into the third period.
Four and a half minutes into the third period, the North Stars got their equalizer. Streaking into the Bombers' end, Braeden Johnson passed the puck back to Robbie Newton for a one-timer. Austin Evans, who was near the net, banged away at the puck and Newton finally got it in to make the score 2-2.
The game looked like it would go into overtime until the 1:30 mark, when Dillon Forbes snatched up a loose puck in the crease and hammered it past Brandon Wildung. Pressing the attack, the Bombers withdrew Wildung for a sixth attacker for the game's last minute. With a mere 3.9 seconds on the board, it looked like the Battlefords were in to play another five minutes of overtime, after the Bombers rifled a one-timer into a seemingly empty net, with Casey Parker lying on his belly. Their excitement was short-lived, however, as the referees called the goal back within seconds, citing goaltender interference from Riley Storzuk.
Casey Parker made 25 saves for the win, and Brandon Wildung made 21. For the North Stars, Braeden Johnson earned assists on every goal.
The win ensured the North Stars would continue their four game point streak into a fifth game, and Flin Flon would continue their losing streak into a fourth. Having played two fewer games than Flin Flon, the Stars are now six points behind them in the standings, and six points behind the first place team in the North Division, the Humboldt Broncos. The North Stars are now one point behind the Nipawin Hawks.
