The Battlefords North Stars have entered rarified air.
With a wild 6-5 win over the Flin Flon Bombers in Game 4 of the Canalta Cup final at the Whitney Forum Wednesday night, the North Stars not only won their second Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League championship, but they became only the third team in league history to go a perfect 12-0 in the playoffs.
“That’s a pretty crazy accomplishment,” defenceman Connor Sych said. “Coming into the series with Weyburn, Estevan and Flin Flon, we all thought that it was going to be some really good battles.
“It just shows how anything can happen in the playoffs, and to be able to go undefeated is pretty amazing.”
The only other team to accomplish that feat was the Prince Albert Raiders in 1976 and 1982.
The final chapter in the North Stars’ journey to their first league title since 2000 was a much different one than their previous battles in the post-season, as they had to claw their way back from going down 4-2 early in the second period.
“I think we went through every emotion that you can possibly feel in this game,” associate coach Braeden Johnson said. “There were so many highs and lows, but the guys stuck with it and now we’re celebrating on the ice.”
“With the desire that our guys have, it never felt like we were going to lose a game,” head coach and general manager Nate Bedford said. “Even tonight when they went ahead by two goals, I was still smiling on the bench as I still felt like we were going to win.”
While Bedford had confidence in his side, it may have been the message that he gave to the North Stars during the second intermission that proved to be the tipping point in the contest.
“It was one heck of a speech and we came out flying in the third period,” defenceman Ryan Rosenberg said.
“He reminded us that it had been 17 years since the North Stars had won a title and there was no way that we were going to have one more game in our home barn. He told us that tonight was our night and it was going to be one heck of a bus ride back to North Battleford.”
Layne Young and Coby Downs gave the North Stars a 6-4 lead early in the third, but they had to withstand a late charge from the Bombers as Kristian St. Onge brought them within a goal.
“Flin Flon is a team that never gives up and they were pushing really hard in the final minutes,” forward Troy Gerein said.
“We found a way to get it done. We were chipping pucks up the ice and blocking shots right until the last minute. There’s no better feeling than seeing the puck head down the ice, hearing the buzzer going off and throwing everything into the air.”
Wednesday’s win marked the conclusion of what had been a dominant campaign for the North Stars in the SJHL, as they went for 48-9-1 in the regular season and hadn’t lost a game since a 3-1 setback on the road against the Nipawin Hawks at the end of February.
“Everyone on this team is just so good at hockey, I’m not really sure how to explain it better than that,” forward Reed Delainey said. “We have four great forward lines, six strong defenceman and two outstanding goalies that work their butts off every game.
“I honestly can’t believe this is happening. I’m so proud to be a part of this team and this community.”
It was also a surreal moment for graduating players Logan Nachtegaele and Kendall Fransoo, as they were able to win a championship for their hometown team.
“It means everything to me as this is what I wanted to do when I was growing up,” Nachtegaele said. “I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the NHL but I dreamed of playing for the North Stars."
“It’s hard to put into words,” Fransoo added. “I grew up watching this team and saw my cousin Curtis win a championship with them in 2000, so it’s pretty neat to be a part of this now as a player for the North Stars.”
Wednesday’s win also capped a roller-coaster year for Bedford, who was hired by the North Stars in August after Kevin Hasselberg left the team for a job with the SPHL’s Pensacola Ice Flyers.
Last April, Bedford’s job as the coach of the Keyano College Huskies disappeared when the program was axed, and he had to deal with another hardship a month later when his family’s home in Fort McMurray burned to the ground during the massive wildfire that went through the area.
“When I get back home to my wife (Katy, who is pregnant with the couple’s second child) and my son (Rockwell), it’ll probably hit me then,” Bedford said.
“She’s the one that gave me the opportunity to coach in this league. We could have done a number of different things, but she allowed me to be a kid a bit and come here to coach the North Stars.”
Capturing the title in the Whitney Forum was an added bonus for the team, as they avenged their semifinal defeat to the Bombers that took place last season.
“That was just the icing on the cake,” Fransoo said. “When you look at our record and how we played in the playoffs, we came in to every game with the mindset that we would win and it happened to work out that way.”
“This has been in the making for awhile now,” Johnson added. “The lessons that the veteran guys have learned over the last couple of seasons have definitely paid off.”
As it had been throughout the season, the goaltending of the North Stars proved to be a pivotal part of the game, though perhaps not in the way many expected.
Joel Grzybowski got the start and made eight saves in the first period, but was pulled in favour of Taryn Kotchorek after giving up a long-range goal to Tyler Nyman with 3.1 seconds left on the clock.
Kotchorek’s relief appearance got off to an auspicious start as Troy Williams’ dump-in from centre ice bounced over his glove and into the back of net just 50 seconds into the second period.
Things went a lot smoother for Kotchorek the rest of the way, as he made 23 saves to earn his eighth win of the post-season.
“That’s one of those situations where you can’t dwell on what happened and stay mad about it,” Kotchorek said. “I knew right away that I had to get back focused on the task at hand, and that was winning the game.”
Although his night didn’t go quite as he had envisioned it, Grzybowski was ecstatic to be a part of a championship team in his first season in the SJHL.
“If you told me at the start of the season that we’d be here right now, I would of said yes to that in a second,” Grzybowski said. “We had some adversity early on, but once we got on a roll, it was a pretty hard for teams to stop us.
“I don’t think Taryn and I expected to have that 50/50 split all the way through the playoffs, but it worked out great for both us. We pushed each other to the max and the best defence in the league helped us out a ton.”
Young led the way on offence for the North Stars with two goals and an assist, while Downs had a goal and an assist on his way to winning the SJHL’s playoff MVP award.
Gerein, Delainey and Bryce Hall also found the back of the net.
Kristian St. Onge scored a pair of goals for the Bombers, who lost the SJHL final a year ago to the Melfort Mustangs and haven’t hoisted the Canalta Cup since their first championship in 1993.
Nick Shumlanski had a goal and an assist in the defeat, while Rylee Zimmer dished out a pair of assists.
Zac Robidoux started the game and made 34 saves, but was pulled in the third period after Young gave the visitors a 5-4 lead.
Brenden Newton finished out the contest and turned aside 12 shots.
After taking Thursday off, the North Stars will have a light practice Friday at the Civic Centre as they gear up to compete in the Western Canada Cup in Penticton, B.C. next week.
“We’re pretty thrilled about going there and facing some really good teams,” Rosenberg said.
“We have a lot of confidence in our group and I think we can do some great things if we go there with the right mindset.”
The field for the event was set in stone Wednesday night, as the Portage Terriers clinched their third straight Manitoba Junior Hockey League championship in six games over the OCN Blizzard.
The Brooks Bandits, who ended the regular season as the top ranked team in the CJHL Top 20, captured their second consecutive Alberta Junior Hockey League title Tuesday after sweeping aside the Whitecourt Wolverines.
The Penticton Vees, who are hosting the tournament, hold a 3-1 lead in the British Columbia Hockey League final over the Chilliwack Chiefs, who will also be at the Western Canada Cup.
The North Stars will open things up against the Vees on April 29 at 8 p.m.
