The Battlefords North Stars threw everything they could at the La Ronge Ice Wolves Tuesday night, except perhaps the kitchen sink.
The way Alex Rajotte played that may not have mattered, as he stopped 58 shots for a shutout, and as the North Stars were held off the scoreboard for the second straight game.
The two teams were held goalless in the first period, as Rajotte stopped 17 shots while Graham Hildebrand turned away 11 in the first 20 minutes.
In the second, Marc-Andre Carre scored an even strength goal that was followed by a shorthanded marker from Patrick Tran and finally a power goal from Nathan Boyer to put the Ice Wolves up 3-0.
The North Stars continued to fire shots at Rajotte, but also took 16 penalties and were shorthanded eight times in the game.
The rough stuff increased in the third period, as Roger Tagoona, Tanner Schwab and Tanner Quinn all received fighting majors while Brett Miller and Dillon Forbes received 10-minute misconducts.
The North Stars had 73 total penalty minutes when everything was tallied up and La Ronge had 61 minutes in penalties in what was the fourth meeting between the two teams this season.
The win was the Ice Wolves' 21st of the season, as they moved ahead of Flin Flon and into third place in the Bauer Conference.
The North Stars, who suffered back-to-back regulation losses for the first time this season, were right back in action Thursday at home to the 19-9-2-3 Flin Flon Bombers. The final game for the North Stars before the holiday break is Wednesday against the Humboldt Broncos at the Civic Centre.
