The Battlefords North Stars made up for lost time over the weekend.
In their first set of Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League games since Dec. 18, the North Stars picked up three wins in three nights with road wins over the Estevan Bruins, Weyburn Red Wings and Notre Dame Hounds.
“It was a really good start to the year for us,” North Stars head coach and general manager Nate Bedford said.
“Three of our losses this year came to those teams, so you’re always a little bit worried when you go to play them on the road, but we battled hard in all three games to come away with the wins.”
Their most recent triumph, which is the North Stars' 12th straight on the road, came Sunday afternoon in a 5-2 affair against the Hounds in Wilcox.
“To be honest, that was a fairly even game,” Bedford said. “It wasn’t a three-goal game by any means.
“The guys did a great job of working through the challenges when the Hounds came back, especially with our leadership group, and they stepped their game up into another game that’s closer to where we want to be going into the playoffs.”
Reed Delainey led the way on offence with two goals and an assist, while Layne Young found the back of the net and dished out two helpers.
Ben Allen and Connor Logan also scored for the North Stars, while Taryn Kotchorek moved to 18-2 on the season with an 18-save showing.
Kobe Kindrachuk and James Piller had the goals for the Hounds, who received a 32-save performance from netminder Riley Higdon.
After a sluggish start by their standards Saturday in Weyburn, the North Stars came out on top by a score of 2-1 after Coby Downs found the back of the Red Wings' net with 1:08 left in the third period.
“It’s not very often that we are kept under 10 shots in a period, but that’s what happened to us in the first,” Bedford said. “They did a good job of containing our offence and they made us try to force things.
“We talked about how things went during the intermission and we were a lot better in the second period. To see us driving hard to the net for the rest of the game, especially with our goal late, was something that we liked to see as a coaching staff.”
Downs also had an assist on Young’s goal, while Joel Grzybowski made 21 saves for his 15th win of the year.
Mike Eskra had the lone marker for the Red Wings and goaltender Carter Phair turned aside 29 shots in a losing effort.
Friday’s battle with the Bruins, which saw the North Stars come out on top by a score of 6-3, was the first meeting between the two sides since the Bruins won an 8-6 battle at the Civic Centre on Nov. 19.
McGregor Sinclair was credited with a hat trick in the contest, though Bedford thinks that might be changed to just two goals in the coming days.
“McGregor is a guy who plays well in all situations,” Bedford said. “He has a high hockey IQ and it’s nice to see him rewarded with a couple of goals.
“He’s someone that we’re very lucky to have as part of our roster over the next couple of years.”
The North Stars also made a trade this week, as they acquired forward Cameron Nickerson from the Nanaimo Buccaneers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League on Thursday evening.
The 19-year-old from Duncan, B.C. had 19 points in 14 games for the Buccaneers after putting up nine points in 11 games earlier in the season for the Oceanside Generals.
After Tuesday’s Canadian Junior Hockey League trade deadline, the North Stars will be back in action Friday when they’ll return to the Civic Centre for a 7:30 p.m. tilt with the Red Wings.
