A game five victory over the Kindersley Klippers sent the Battlefords North Stars onto the second round, continuing their legitimate push for the SJHL title.
It doesn’t get any easier against a Flin Flon Bombers squad, who are coming into the semifinal having won four of six games against the North Stars. However, the pair of wins for the black and white came in the final two games between these two, and they were anything but close. A 9-1 effort, with hat tricks from Igor Leonenko and Jake McMillen and a 5-2 dominant victory capped off the season series.
Flin Flon upset one of the better teams in the league in the opening round. After going down 1-0 to the Viterra Division champions, the Weyburn Red Wings, the Bombers were able to take four straight victories against one of the best netminders in the league, Jack Burgart. It was a series fueled with animosity, leading to a Sportscentre debut after Tucker Neuberger stole the cherished Flin Flon moose leg. A brawl ensued, and suspensions were handed out.
On the other side, the North Stars were able to overcome one of the hottest goalies in the playoffs, Nathan Hargrave. The highest scoring offence in the SJHL showed why they were crowned regular season champions, outscoring Kindersley 18-13 in the opening round. The production came from familiar faces. Igor Leonenko, Layne Young and Coby Downs provided the bark of the offence, scoring 14 of the 18 goals. Leonenko and Young provided five, while Downs, who has recently been named rookie of the week, had four. Certainly they will be looking for more production from the supporting cast, while having a more even-balanced approach.
Flin Flon is another team that has had a top heavy offence, not only during the playoffs, but over the course of the regular season. Brandon Switzer, Joel Kocur and Alex Smith make up the top line the North Stars will be looking to contain. Switzer tallied 75 points (32 goals, 43 assists), Kocur had 71 and Smith was one of the most prolific scorers in the SJHL, gathering 84 points while finishing third in the league for scoring. In six games against the North Stars, they combined for 29 points. Considering the next player on the list mustered just 33 points all season, if the Battlefords are looking for success, shutting down the top line will be their priority.
There are still some key injuries for the North Stars, but they are closer to getting back on the ice each day. McMillen will be missed, as he had the Bombers’ number throughout the regular season. The forward posted 10 points (five goals and five assists) over the six games they played.
Leonenko characteristically will be a major part of the offence, and had a tremendous campaign against the Bombers, scoring seven goals while providing four helpers. Young contributed with a goal and three assists, while his counterpart, Downs, chipped in with six helpers.
Dustin Gorgi missed half of the opening series due to injury, but the 28-goal scorer came back with a tally and an assist in his return, while contributing three points against the Bombers during the regular season. Reed Delainey has been skating for the last week, and is primed to make his postseason debut. It seems as though the Battlefords are getting healthy at the right moments, and these two should provide a spark to a power play unit that has yet to prove themselves in the playoffs.
The success on the man advantage has yet to carry over from the regular season, but that may have been a result of running into a strong goaltender. The second ranked power play unit scored just three times on 28 opportunities through five games, ranking them near the bottom of the SJHL.
Like the Battlefords, Flin Flon had their trouble on the man advantage in the first round. Converting just 15.8 per cent, scoring three goals on 19 attempts, they will be in tough against a North Star penalty kill that had a solid opening round containing Austin Calladine, Dexter Bricker and Daniell Lange.
Anchoring the crease will be Tyler Fuhr for the Battlefords, and, surprisingly, Brenden Newton for Flin Flon.
Fuhr made the saves he had to make throughout the Kindersley matchup, and was instrumental in their game five victory, sealing the series with a 27-save performance. Fuhr finished the first round with a 2.42 goals against average and .917 save percentage.
Across the ice, Newton took over for Zac Robidoux after a lackluster game one. Since acquiring the starting job, the Bombers netminder has ran with the responsibility and has not looked back, putting up incredible numbers. Through the opening series against Weyburn, Newton posted a 1.32 goals against average, a shutout and an astronomical .964 save percentage, all while remaining undefeated. He will have to come up big against a team that had over 40 shots in four of five games against the Klippers.
The Battlefords will have the edge in game one, as some key cogs for the Bombers will be suspended due to the moose leg incident. Joseph Leonidas, one of their best defenceman, and Brandon Lesko will miss the opener.
The series will no doubt be a physical battle.There was 239 penalty minutes dished out between these teams and a whopping 17 game misconducts in the final two games. Coupled with elite goal scorers and quality goaltending on both sides, this matchup has everything a hockey fan wants to see. Friday can’t come soon enough.
