One game at at time.
That was the mentality for the Battlefords North Stars ahead of their game five clash with the Flin Flon Bombers. The North Stars season was on the line Saturday night in front of a deafening crowd after dropping game four in Flin Flon. If the regular season was any indication, the black and white were not going to go down easy.
Go down without a fight, they did not. Despite jumping out to a 3-0 lead after the first period, the Bombers continued to battle, walking away with an exciting 6-5 win in double overtime.
Logan Nachtegaele brought the fans to their feet early into the opening frame. The North Battleford native picked a perfect time to get his first of the playoffs. Ryan Rosenberg hit Nachtegaele in stride with a crisp, neutral zone feed, springing the forward for a breakaway. Number 12 broke into the offensive zone with tremendous speed before transition the puck onto his backhand and lifting it over the pad of Zac Robidoux and into the back of the net.
You can say backup goaltender Ryan Rewerts is partially to blame for the nifty move, as the two make sure to go head-to-head during warm ups prior to every tilt.
The New York defenceman kept the goal train moving with an impressive individual effort. Doing it all himself, number 4 brought the puck over the blue line on the left wing, exhibiting tremendous patience as he headed into the slot, waiting out Robidoux before sliding the puck into the back of the net, making it a 2-0 game. Rory Davidson, who was excellent on the penalty kill effort moments before, was rewarded with an assist on the tally.
The North Stars offence continued to dominate in the opening frame with a goal from the power play unit. The man advantage clicked as Layne Young received a pass from Coby Downs in the slot. Young turned around, rifling a shot far side on Robidoux, just over the glove of the Bombers netminder.
It was a 3-0 game after 20 minutes. The black and white also led in shots, 11-9.
In the middle stanza Flin Flon battled back, opening the scoring on a nice play at the right hash marks. Mason Etter corralled the puck after receiving a pass from the blue line from Adam Wilson. The forward was able to hop over a sprawling Jordan Wiest before wristing a shot blocker side on Tyler Fuhr, bringing the Bombers within two. Nick Shumlanski drew the second assist.
The Bombers continued their attack with eight minutes remaining in the second period. Curtis Roach found the puck just outside the right faceoff dot in North Stars territory. The defenceman fired a wrist shot on net and Brandon Switzer was there to deflect it home, cutting the deficit to just one. Alex Smith collaborated on the goal, also registering an assist.
Minutes later, the Battlefords were handed a five-on-three power play, and they made no mistake restoring their two-goal advantage. Downs found Igor Leonenko perched in his spot to the left of Robidoux. His big one-timer found the back of the net, making it 4-2 midway through the second period. The tally was his second of the series and eighth of the playoffs. Braydon Buziak had the second helper.
Flin Flon wouldn’t go away, continuing to bounce back while capitalizing on a man advantage opportunity. Greyson Reitmeier took a cross-crease pass from Wilson before knocking the puck past Fuhr. The netminder couldn’t move post-to-post quick enough, narrowly being beaten by the shot.
After 40 minutes of play, the North Stars continued to hold onto the lead despite being outshot 26-21.
In the third period, the black and white came out to play. Dustin Gorgi put in some hard hours in the corner before finding Rosenberg at the point. A blast from the blue line found the stick of Baxter Kanter, who deflected it into the back of the cage for his second of the playoffs.
In transition, the Bombers headed to a power play, and leading scorer Smith was sprung for a breakaway. Trying to go far side and over the glove of Fuhr, the North Stars netminder would absolutely rob him of a sure goal, flashing the leather. The momentum the Battlefords received from the save was shortly lived, however, as Switzer scored his second of the game from the left wing, through traffic.
Flin Flon tied the game up on their 35th shot of the night. A pass through the slot led to a wide open cage for Rylee Zimmer. A horizontal Fuhr tried to regain his spot in the crease to make a highlight reel save, but the puck caught a piece of him and slipped past the goal line. For the first time, the game was tied, 5-5, and headed to overtime.
The fourth period solved nothing but tremendous back and forth action from both teams. Downs rifled a one-timer from the left wing but Robidoux was able to shut the door on the five-hole attempt. Shots were 57-45 heading into double OT.
Flin Flon punched their ticket to the Canalta Cup finals in the fifth period. Playoff hockey is usually decided in heartbreaking fashion, and Saturday night was no different. Kanter busted down the ice on a two-on-one with his counterpart, Gorgi, down the left wing. A saucer pass found the blade of number 19, who stared down an open cage, but Robidoux’s best friend, the post, was there to bail him out.
Zimmer capped off his incredible game five by scoring the game tying goal, and then sending his bench into a frenzy by tallying the game winner. Corralling the puck in the neutral zone, Zimmer crossed the North Stars blue line with momentum before firing a shot past Fuhr, eliminating the North Stars from postseason contention.
The Bombers will now face either Melfort or Nipawin in game one of the Canalta Cup finals.
On the other side, the North Stars season is not for loss, receiving two banners for regular season champions and first place in the Finning Division. They have an incredible core of elite players coming back. For Jake McMillen, Fuhr, Davidson, Gorgi, Jordan Wiest, Leonenko, Reed Delainey, Jordan Townsend and Kanter, this will be the end of the line, but all had excellent junior careers.
The North Stars will undoubtedly be a team that competes for the Canalta Cup title a year from now, and are in good hands.
News-Optimist THREE STARS
1.Ryan Roenberg (1 G, 1 A)
2. Tyler Fuhr (55 saves)
3. Coby Downs (2 A)
