There's a new nickname you can call the Battlefords North Stars after their most recent string of games: the Cardiac Kids.
The team has simply made a habit of taking games right down to the wire as of late - making it far from easy for themselves or, for that matter, their opponents.
"It's a little stressful but it's all part of the learning process," said coach Kevin Hasselberg after yet another nail-biter finish Friday night when the North Stars were home against the Weyburn Red Wings.
The shorthanded North Stars ended up hanging on for dear life for a 2-1 win. It was their third win in a row but more importantly, it was their elusive first win at home at the Civic Centre this season.
The scoring began with Tanner Quinn in the opening period, but a power play goal by Brian Farkas tied things at 1-1 after one.
There was no scoring in the second though the period was enlivened by some hard hitting including a scrunching hit by Kyle Schmidt on Nick Pouliot at the blue line.
The third period saw the North Stars take advantage of a power play opportunity as Luke McColgan beat Rylan Parenteau to give the North Stars a 2-1 lead.
But that lead proved tenuous late in the game after Dillon Forbes was assessed a five-minute major and an instigator penalty after he retaliated to a hit from behind by Jon Brumwell on Tanner Quinn. Brumwell got a checking from behind penalty and game misconduct after that incident.
Overall, it meant the North Stars were down a man for the remaining 3:45 of the third period. Still, Hasselberg said the team supported Forbes' actions.
Forbes was "doing what he thought was right under the circumstances," said Hasselberg. "One of our players went into the boards awkwardly and Dillon felt he needed to address that in his own way."
The whole bench supported Forbes' actions, noted Hasselberg, who said the team went out and killed the penalty "because the guys supported what Dillon did and that's what a team does. You know, we stand up for each other thick or thin and Dillon did that for Tanner in those circumstances."
Also coming through in the final minutes was the goaltending of Darren Martin, who stopped 34 Weyburn shots on the night. The North Stars outshot Weyburn 39-35.
In the final minute the North Stars survived a 6-on-4 situation after the Red Wings pulled their goaltender, and held on to win 2-1 before an excited and particularly enthusiastic crowd of 704. The positive crowd reaction was a big lift for the team both during and at the end of the game.
"It was good to hear the crowd chanting their name and good to see a bunch of smiles on their faces after a hard-fought victory," said Hasselberg.
The North Stars had no time to rest on their laurels as they headed to Nipawin the next night for a game against the Hawks.
In that contest Nipawin took a 1-0 lead in the first on a goal by Mitch Doell from Carter Danczak and Jayden Piattelli. That goal held up until late in the third period when the North Stars tied it on an Austin Evans goal from Taylor Reich and Kyle Schmidt.
But, with 1:15 remaining ,Tad Kozun scored on Martin to give Nipawin the lead and shortly after he marked the empty-netter to end the North Stars' three-game winning streak. The final score was 3-1 Nipawin.
Despite the loss Saturday it is evident the North Stars are slowly but surely showing improvement as this season progresses, now with a record of 7-13-0-1.
They hope to get back in the win column against Melfort Mustangs Friday night at the Civic Centre.
