It was an interesting weekend for the Battlefords North Stars as they travelled down to the Southern end of the province.
After winning their third straight divisional title Friday as the result of the Humboldt Broncos losing a 4-3 affair to the Nipawin Hawks, the North Stars a pair of 4-3 affairs to the Estevan Bruins and Notre Dame Hounds on Saturday and Sunday.
They bounced back in style Monday afternoon, however, as the defending Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League champions improved to 39-11-2-0 on the season with a 5-0 shutout performance over the Weyburn Red Wings.
“To win another division title says a lot about the program here,” North Stars head coach and general manager Brandon Heck said.
“There were two great guys here before me [Kevin Hasselberg and Nate Bedford] that laid a good foundation here and I was fortune to come in here to that and add few tweaks of my own. The good culture was already established here with the guys and it’s a great situation to be a part of.”
Thanks to Monday’s win and a pair of losses for the Hawks, who were beaten in the first time in regulation since Nov. 10, 2017 on Saturday by the Melfort Mustangs, the North Stars are now just two points back of the 38-7-2-4 Hawks for first place in the SJHL.
The Hawks do have a game in hand over the North Stars and will host them in the final game of the regular season on Friday, March 9.
After coming up on the losing end of two close games to start off the road trip, the North Stars were able to have some good things happen to them in Weyburn as they controlled the run of play for most of the afternoon.
“We played well in all three games during the weekend, but we just didn’t get the timely bounces and the other teams were able to take advantage of our mistakes in the first two games for goals,” Heck said.
“We were hard on pucks against Weyburn and we played a lot in their end. We moved the puck around really well on our cycle and we did a good job of moving our feet when we didn’t have the puck.”
Monday’s victory also saw Layne Young become the first North Stars since Travis Clayton in 1995-96 to reach the 100-point plateau as he scored a goal and had an assist against the Red Wings.
He also became the first SJHL player to reach the century mark since Travis Eggum and Marc-Andre Carre each had 106 points for the La Ronge Ice Wolves during the 2010-11 season.
“I think everyone knows by now just what a special player Layne is,” Heck said. “He continues to bring it on a nightly basis.”
Having already set an SJHL record for the most shutouts by a goaltender in league history, Taryn Kotchorek picked up his fifth shutout of the season and 14th of his career with a 36-save performance.
MacGregor Sinclair and Cole Johnson led the way on offence with a goal and two assists each, while Brad Girard and Owen Lamb also scored.
“I thought Johnson was absolutely dominant against Weyburn,” Heck said. “He could have had four or five goals very easily.”
Keith Anderson had a pair of goals for the North Stars in Sunday’s loss to the Hounds, which also saw Levi Kleiboer pick up three assists while Young scored a goal and set up one of Anderson’s markers.
Joel Grzybowski, who suited up for the Western Hockey League’s Victoria Royals Wednesday night in a wild 7-6 shootout loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings, made 18 saves in his return to the lineup.
Chance Longjohn led the way for the Hounds with a goal and an assist each, while Chaz Smedsrud, Jack Flaman and Connor Mylymok also scored.
Saturday’s affair in Estevan saw the North Stars fire 49 shots at the Bruins net, but they were turned aside on 46 occasions by Bo Didur.
Connor Manegre and Sinclair had a pair of assists each in the loss, which saw Young, Girard and Chaseton Braid all find the back of the net.
TJ Irey led the way for the Bruins with a pair of goals, while Jayden Davis and Zach Goberis also scored.
The North Stars will go back out on the road Friday night to take on the Melfort Mustangs, with their next game at the Civic Centre taking place on Friday, March 2 against the Humboldt Broncos.
In other news, two members of the North Stars roster have been nominated for the 2017-18 SJHL awards.
Young was selected as a finalist for the most valuable player and player of the year accolades, while Kleiboer was nominated for the top defenceman award.
