A night after the North Stars got the best of Flin Flon in a 9-1 game, their first victory against the Bombers this year, they were at it again with an opportunity to clinch first place in the SJHL with a win and Melfort loss.
The black and white dominated Saturday night, winning 5-2, but will have to wait to clinch the top spot as Melfort beat Melville 8-0.
It was a playoff-type atmosphere, and the Civic Centre was packed to the brim. Back-to-back games of over 1000 fans in attendance in what was the biggest series to date. A record breaking 1,288 people were on hand Saturday night to watch the second part of a two-game sweep, and witness a season high eighth straight win from the North Stars.
Apart from the explosion of offence, the massive fan base saw some quality goaltending as well.
Flin Flon had the opening chance of the game on a shorthanded partial breakaway. Tyler Fuhr, getting his second start in as many nights, kicked out his right pad to squander the bid for goal.
Fuhr had a fantastic night in net, making sure his club held the lead throughout 60 minutes. The netminder made 33 stops when all was said and done.
The Bombers later got on the board with 4:39 left in the opening frame and a weird exchange between the referees. Kristian St. Onge caught a flying puck just outside the North Stars crease. He dropped it onto his stick on the far side of the post before jamming it into the net. The goal was initially waved off, but after careful consideration, the refs determined that he did not close his hand on the puck to pass it to himself, but batted it down. Alex Smith and Ryan Zimmer drew the assists. The goal was his 10th of the campaign.
A big, thunderous hit from Jordan Wiest led to Rory Davidson evening up the scoreboard just over a minute later. Number 15 and his linemates were given the task of shutting down the top line of Flin Flon in Smith, Joel Kocur and Brandon Switzer, but nobody said they couldn’t generate some offence for themselves. The speedster corralled the puck near the neutral zone and sprung himself on a breakaway. Davidson eyed down Zac Robidoux before wristing a shot under the glove for his fifth of the campaign.
Heading into the middle frame shots were 13-10 for your North Stars.
Igor Leonenko and Layne Young gave the Battlefords a 2-1 advantage three minutes into the second period on a rush of their own. Young found Levi Kleiboer, who cut into the slot before dropping a pass to Leonenko. Number 25 picked it up and rifled a shot short side and under the glove of Robidoux for his 42nd of the year and 4th in the last two nights. He now has a nine-game point streak, while Young has an eleven-game streak going.
For the second night in a row, Leonenko’s relentlessness earned him his second goal of the game. Igor outskated two Bombers defenders before patiently waiting out Robidoux on his far side, slipping the puck around his pads and into the back of the net for his 43rd. Ryan Rosenberg had the helper.
The North Stars increased their lead late in the final frame on the power play. Connor Sych teed up Leonenko on the right wing. The forward stepped into his shot, finding the stick of Dustin Gorgi for the deflection and a three-goal advantage. The mark was Gorgi’s 27th of the year.
Flin Flon tallied a goal with the net empty to cut the deficit to two. The mark stood as their last, as the North Stars walked away with a 5-2 victory. Davidson wristed his second of the night into the empty net.
The physicality was evident throughout the two games at the Civic Centre this weekend. Big hits were thrown, misconducts were tossed to both teams and tensions could not have been any higher. It was apparent that these two teams, frankly, do not like each other, and could be an incredible matchup if they were to end up clashing late in the playoffs. All together, 237 penalty minutes were dished out over the course of the two-game series.
On deck are the Broncos in game three of the North Stars four-game homestand. The black and white have outscored Humboldt 32-7 and have won all six games against them this year. They will be searching for their ninth straight victory. Puck drop is Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
