A frantic first minute of play Sunday afternoon saw the Battlefords AAA Stars jump out to an early lead over the Notre Dame Hounds.
Soon after Adam Beckman’s goal, however, the Stars found themselves in a ton of trouble.
Numerous penalty kills proved to be costly for the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League squad, as they dropped a 5-1 decision to the Hounds at the Civic Centre.
“We came out flying, but once we got the penalties, we ended up back on our heels a little bit,” Stars head coach Jean Fauchon said. “The Hounds have a really good power play, and they’ll take advantage of their chances.
“We were able to hang with them five-on-five, but the penalties proved to be a difference. I don’t want to put all the blame on the guys though today, as there were times that I felt that the officiating was a little one-sided, but we still need to stay out of the box.
The Hounds were led on offence by a two-goal performance from Swiss forward Anthony Neuenschwander, while Loeden Schaufler had three assists.
Cordel Larson, Brad Morrissey and Thomas Casey also scored for the Hounds, who had a 27-save performance from Jack Ryan.
Lance Alm turned aside 48 shots for the Stars, who will be back in action Tuesday night, when they’ll host the Saskatoon Blazers.
In other news, the Stars will be in Prince Albert to play the Mintos on Feb. 2.
That will be a makeup game from a weather postponed contest last Thursday.
