Defeating the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s defending champions is a huge accomplishment.
To do so while limiting them to just seven shots on goal is impressive.
That’s exactly what the Battlefords North Stars did Saturday night at the Northern Lights Palace in Melfort as they defeated the host Mustangs by a score of 4-0.
“You’d probably have to ask (North Stars goaltender) Taryn (Kotchorek) if he actually faced that many shots during the game,” North Stars general manager and head coach Nate Bedford said. “I wasn’t paying that much attention to it, but I know that Melfort didn’t have very many shots in the third period.
“Good to see us play a responsible game at both ends on the ice instead of playing a run and gun game like we have done in the past year. Sometimes, that can get you into trouble.”
The North Stars did a lot of the little things right in their win over the Mustangs, which was lacking in their 4-2 loss to he Melville Millioniares last Monday at the SJHL showcase in Warman.
“Our guys made a goal of it to have numbers coming back to the neutural zone taking care of our own end,” Bedford said.
“Another thing we wanted to do is limit the amount of power-play goals that we gave up, especially after we allowed four goals against Melville in our last game. We were blocking shots today to do that, and Owen Lamb did his part in that by blocking five shots in one period.”
Saturday’s result was highlighted by strong showings by Brett Horn and Austin Shumanski.
Horn, who was acquired from the CCHL’s Pembroke Lumber Kings last month, led the offence with Reed Delianey by scoring a goal and adding an assist.
“For a guy like Brett I think there was some frustration here early on,” Bedford said. “He’s used to putting points on the board and he had yet to do that here this year.
“I know there was a relief on his face when he got the goal and it was just a matter of getting that goal.”
Shumanski, who is the youngest player on the team, scored his first ever goal Saturday and also had a number of big hits to stop any Mustangs rushes.
“He certainly doesn’t complain about being in and out of the lineup,” Bedford said. “He goes with the flow and you certainly like that when players like him succeed.
“He had four really good shots on net and the one that he scored on was exactly what we wanted to see off of a face-off. He keeps things simple out there and that’s what we want from our young guys.”
Connor Sych had the other goal for the North Stars in the win.
Next up for the North Stars is a rematch with the Mustangs Tuesday at the Civic Centre before they embark on a five-game road trip.
“The biggest thing that we will be working on is our special teams play,” Bedford said.
“Our penalty kill can be a little bit better and we can use a little more confidence on our power-play. We have the skill but we just need to relax out there a bit.”
