Your North Stars travelled to Notre Dame for a Sunday matinee game against the Hounds.
The Battlefords had a successful trip coming into today, winning both games on the road and were looking for a fourth straight victory.
After trailing by two goals multiple times during the bout, the North Stars would battle back and win a squeaker in overtime, 5-4.
In the opening frame, Layne Young sprung leading scorer Jake McMillen with a breakaway pass, who promptly notched his fourth goal in the last five games. The mark was McMillen’s 17th of the campaign.
The Hounds would battle back with six minutes left in the first, intercepting a Ryan Rosenberg pass and snapping a shot from Ben Duperreault home, tying the game at one.
Notre Dame kept coming as Nathan Walsh capitalized on a special teams opportunity, deflecting an Evan Werle shot past the Stars netminder to take a 2-1 advantage. The Hounds continued to bury on their power play. Gage Ramsay gave the red and white a two-goal lead late in the first after throwing the puck on net and under the pads of Ryan Rewerts.
North Stars had some work to do after the first intermission and Layne Young answered the call, registering his second point of the tilt in the second period, knocking home a loose puck in the Hounds crease.
The tally cut the lead in half, 3-2, before Ian Williams of the Hounds busted down the right wing to notch a short handed goal, chasing Rewerts from the game.
Taryn Kotchorek would relieve him, stopping nine of nine shots.
Three minutes into the final frame the North Stars applied the pressure and were rewarded. Connor Navroth scored his first SJHL goal on a tip from a Logan Nachtegaele shot, closing the gap for the Battlefords, making it 4-3.
The North Stars’ Tanner Nagel then registered his sixth goal of the season on a scramble play in front of Alex Thibaudeau. Kendall Fransoo had the blast from the point that set the tying goal up, sending it to overtime.
With under a minute left in extra time, Layne Young, who had a monster game, fed a cross crease pass to Dustin Gorgi, completing the comeback and sweeping the weekend road trip.
A three-point night from Young catapults him into second place for overall points in the SJHL, four behind the lead. Head Coach Kevin Hasselberg thinks his play this year will open doors for the 18-year-old.
“I thought he was a force around the puck and was very hard to knock off, when he found the ice he made the right play, there’s a school out there that is going to take a flyer on him…when they do they will be getting a special player.”
The North Stars are off until the 20th, where they travel to Manitoba to face the Bombers.
News Optimist THREE STARS:
1) Layne Young - 1 G, 2 A
2) Dustin Gorgi - GWG (1 G, 1 A)
3) Taryn Kotchorek - 9/9 SVs 0.00 GAA
