There was no stopping Battlefords North Stars forward MacGregor Sinclair Friday at the Civic Centre.
The 19-year-old from Irma, Alta. earned his first career Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League hat trick in style as he scored the game-winning goal with 25.7 seconds left in the third period to give the North Stars a dramatic 3-2 triumph over the Notre Dame Hounds.
“Personally, it was more important for me that we got the win,” Sinclair said. “This was a really big game with first place in the division on the line and I think all of the boys were fired up that we were able to grind this game out and come out on top.”
All three of Sinclair’s goals came from one-time passes, as Layne Young set up the first and third tallies to go along with a power play marker that was a result of a feed from defenceman Levi Kleiboer.
“I think a lot of that is a result of MacGregor’s footwork, which is something that he works on regularly,” North Stars head coach and general manager Brandon Heck said.
“His performance tonight is a real valuable lesson for our younger guys on the team. If you put in the work, you’ll get rewarded.”
Elijah Loon-Stewardson, who was moved up to the top line because of an injury to Dakota Huebner that he suffered in a 4-3 shootout win over the Kindersley Klippers Tuesday, also had a strong evening with a three-assist performance.
“I though ‘Looner’ played really well tonight,” Sinclair said. “I really like how he plays out there both with and without the puck, and he’s a great fit with Layne and I on that line.”
Taryn Kotchorek turned aside 24 shots in goal for the North Stars, who have won their last five games and now have a 17-3-1-0 record.
With the victory, the North Stars also moved ahead of the Hounds by a single point for first place in the Olympics Buildings Division and gained a measure of revenge after dropping a 5-1 decision in Wilcox last Wednesday in their first meeting of the season.
“It was definitely a better effort from the guys this time around,” Heck said. “Both teams treated it like a playoff game and it was a really good battle from start to finish.
“Those were two much needed points as we go forward. They have a good team over there.”
The Hounds, who saw their five-game win streak come to an end Friday and now have a 15-6-1-3 mark, got their goals from Marshall Wilton and Zack Kosteniuk while goaltender Jacob Standen made 27 saves.
“Up until the last 30 seconds, I thought our third period was our best of the night as we played a lot better than we did in the first 40 minutes,” Hounds head coach and general manager Clint Mylymok said.
“When you go 0-for-5 on the power play, that doesn’t help your cause. We needed some big goals there, but we didn’t have much going on.”
While Mylymok was lamenting his team’s inability to find the back of the net on the man advantage, Heck was pleased with how the North Stars penalty kill unit performed.
“The guys were competing hard out there and finding a way to block shots on a number of occasions,” Heck said.
“Different players were stepping up for us out there. I look at someone like Connor Manegre, who didn’t show up in the stats department, but he was one of our better guys tonight with the number of hard minutes that he had.”
It wasn’t all positives for the North Stars in the win, as forward Connor McIntosh left the ice in the second period and did not return after making a big hit on Hounds forward David Lenzin.
The North Stars will conclude their three-game swing against divisional rivals Saturday in Humboldt as they’ll take on the host Broncos in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the Elgar Petersen Arena.
Their next home game will be Tuesday night when the La Ronge Ice Wolves make their first trip to the Civic Centre this season.
