Special teams and a big effort from one of their rookies were the keys to success for the Battlefords Stars Thursday night.
The Stars did a solid job staying out of the penalty box, but infractions are inevitable and killing four of five Beardy's Blackhawks powerplays went a long way towards a victory. Two powerplay goals on three opportunities for the Stars helped too.
Meanwhile, rookie forward Josh LaFramboise was playing in just his second AAA game and earned his first two points, which couldn't have come at a better time. He had an assist on the game-tying goal in the third period to send it to overtime. Then, in overtime, LaFramboise scored the game-winner to keep the Stars' unbeaten season alive.
Although the score sheet shows a 4-3 overtime win, it was nowhere near that close. The Stars dominated the puck from start to finish, registering scoring chance after scoring chance to the point they had a distinct advantage even with a player in the penalty box. The shots tell the story better than the score, with the Blackhawks ending the game behind 48-29. In overtime, the Stars had five shots to the Blackhawks' zero.
The ability to capitalize on chances is what set the two teams apart for much of the game. The Blackhawks struck first when Nicholas Shumlanski made a crisp pass to Shane Regier across the ice, leaving goaltender Ryan Rewerts no chance to make the stop as he slid across the crease.
The trio of Logan Nachtegaele, Bryce Neufeld and Keifer Hintz connected for the Stars' first goal. The three players had a combined eight points in Wednesday's game against Saskatoon and continued to impress Thursday. It was Nachtegaele who had the goal after banging home a rebound. A recurring theme for the Stars this season has been strong positional play and a focus on puck possession and driving the net hard. So far it's been paying off, with their forwards using their size to stake a claim to the prime real estate in front of goalies.
The Stars went into the second period trailing when Reed Gunville scored on a Rewerts rebound with five minutes left.
The Stars spent eight minutes of the second period in the box, but forward Spencer Bast apparently didn't get the memo. He spent most of the penalty kill jumping defenders at the blue line and taking the puck to the other end, racking up scoring chances, single-handedly outplaying a five-man Blackhawks powerplay.
With about two minutes remaining and on the powerplay, Bast was absolutely robbed by goalie Mitchell Canaday, but got revenge on the next play when he walked in the slot and beat Canaday five-hole. It was Bast's fourth goal of the season, tying him for the team lead with line mate Graham Gove.
Teams exchanged goals and penalties in the third, with Kaleb Dahlgren scoring for the Stars. And it was LaFramboise's goal a minute into overtime on the powerplay that was the difference maker.
The Stars take a week off before heading to Swift Current Thursday, looking to improve their record to 5-0-1. They're back at home the following Saturday when Yorkton makes the trip to the Battlefords.
