The Battlefords North Stars snapped a two-game losing streak by beating the Notre Dame Hounds 5-1 Wednesday night at the Civic Centre.
It was the first game in over a week for the North Stars. According to head coach Kevin Hasselberg, the team had to work off some rust in the first period.
"I was really happy with our team's play after the first period," said Hasselberg. "The puck was jumping on us a little bit. By the third period, we had a sense of calmness about us and just kind of took control of the game."
It was a slow start to the game for the North Stars. Captain Kyle Schmidt was caught on his heels, allowing Hounds centre Sam Aulie to skate past him and get a shot on Battlefords goaltender Darren Martin.
The game's first goal came late in the opening period. North Stars forward Blake Young skated in front of the net, but Hounds goaltender Alexi Thibaudeau stopped his shot. Igor Leonenko also had a shot at it, but Thibaudeau stopped him too. Cameron Blair jumped on the rebound and buried it into the empty net to put Battlefords up 1-0 with 3:37 to play.
It was a scoreless second that saw the Hounds apply a lot of pressure in the middle of the period. Notre Dame had seven straight shots following a Battlefords power play, but Martin kept the North Stars in front. Martin stopped Ryan Donovan's initial shot, but the rebound ended up on Ram Brar's stick. The Battlefords goaltender dove across the crease to make the save with his left pad to keep the North Stars in front.
The Hounds kept the pressure late in the period. Cory Anderson had an opportunity to tie the game with a shot alone in the slot. He beat Martin, but hit the left goal post.
The trio of Blair, Leonenko and Young combined for the North Stars' second goal of the game midway through the second period. The puck found its way to Young in the corner. He cut in front of the net and snapped it past Thibaudeau with 11:29 remaining in the game.
Notre Dame took a penalty 22 seconds after the goal. Jon Paris took his third cross checking penalty of the game, which also resulted in his ejection from the game for too many stick infractions. The North Stars capitalized on the man advantage. Dillon Forbes' slap shot from the point found its way through traffic in front of Thibaudeau and beat the Hounds netminder below his glove with 9:40 left.
Before Forbes' goal was announced in the Civic Centre, Tanner Quinn walked in front of the Hounds' net and snapped the puck of the left post and into the net with 9:11 left to play. Hasselberg had nothing but praise for Quinn's line, including Brenden Heinrich and Jack Petrino, following the game.
"They were a ball of energy tonight," said Hasselberg. "It seemed like every time they were on the ice, they were generating cycles and generating offence in the offensive zone. In that third period, their efforts paid off and were rewarded with a goal."
The North Stars added another power play goal with 5:04 left in the game. Latrell Charleson's one-timer from the point never got off the ice and slid through Thibaudeau to put the North Stars up 5-0.
Notre Dame broke the shutout a minute later. Aulie's shot from the point found its way through Martin to make the score 5-1 with 4:04 to play.
Martin preserved that score with time running out in the third. He dove across the crease to make an incredible glove save to rob a Hounds forward of a late goal. Martin finished the game with 34 saves on the night for his 11th win. Thibaudeau stopped 32 shots in the Notre Dame loss.
The North Stars (31-17-0-3) hit the road for three games in three nights this weekend. They play in Estevan Friday night, Weyburn Saturday night and Notre Dame Sunday afternoon.
Battlefords return home Feb. 28 for an important matchup against the Kindersley Klippers. It is the last home game of the regular season. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.
