For the first time in the 2016-17 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League season, the Battlefords North Stars have suffered an overtime loss.
Mike Eskra’s goal with just 10.9 seconds in the extra frame was the difference as the Weyburn Red Wings brought an end to the North Stars’ six-game winning streak as they came away with a 2-1 triumph at the Civic Centre.
“Weyburn has played great against us in all three games that we’ve played them so far this year,” North Stars head coach and general manager Nate Bedford said. “They play tough, they get timely goals, they have good goaltending and they’ve been able to frustrate our guys.
“We’re not willing to go to the hard areas against them. Our guys like playing to the outside and it’s easy for a team like Weyburn to shut you down when you do that.”
Eskra’s overtime winner was a bit of a redemption moment for the Red Wings captain, as he was on the ice for Coby Downs’ late go-ahead goal between the two sides last week in Weyburn.
“We had a heck of a week of practice after that game and we came out strong tonight,” Eskra said.
“Our group has been together now since Dec. 1. We didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline and we’re looking for consistency now. That’s going to be the key to move our team in the right direction.”
The Red Wings, who are second in the Viterra Division and sixth in the league standings with a 18-18-1-4 record, also battled through some adversity between the pipes.
After stopping all 27 shots he faced in the first two periods, Carter Phair was forced to leave the game early in the third period after a collision in front of the net with North Stars forward McGregor Sinclair.
Shaun Fleming entered the game cold and made 16 saves to help his team get the win.
“Shaun’s been great for us all season,” Red Wings head coach Wes Rudy said. “He’s flat out won us some games for us this year, and we don’t expect anything different from him whenever he goes into the game.”
“Carter’s a competitor so it was tough to see him get hurt, but Shaun was awesome for us when he went in there,” Eskra said. “We have full faith in all three of our goalies as they can get the job done.”
Fleming’s only blemish came early in the third period when Layne Young scored on the power play.
Carson Rose opened the scoring for the Red Wings with a breakaway goal in the second frame.
Joel Grzybowski made 29 saves in the loss for the North Stars, which dropped their record to 33-7-1-0.
The North Stars will look to start a new win streak Saturday when they’ll host the Red Wings again at 7:30 p.m.
