The North Stars have had some success against the second place Mustangs this year. Holding a record of 2-0 while scoring nine in a 9-6 victory last time through, it may seem as though the Battlefords have their number in 2015.
At Northern Lights Palace, though, Melfort has been nearly unbeatable. Coming into Wednesday, they had yet to lose in regulation at home in 15 games (14-0-1).
They got their fifteenth win tonight, killing off nine of 10 power plays from the North Stars in a 4-1 effort. The defensive special teams on the Battlefords bench did just as well, successfully killing off all eight of Melfort’s man advantages.
A pair of early four-on-four goals handed the Stangs a commanding lead in the first period. Eric Sinclair started the scoring with a harmless shot from the point. A little bit of friendly fire led to Troy Gerein deflecting the puck just past the glove of Taryn Kotchorek to put the Mustangs up by one at the 11:54 mark.
Just 30 seconds later, it was Tristan Frei busting to the net all alone before depositing the puck past the pad of Kotchorek, giving the Mustangs a two-goal advantage.
This all came on the back of the North Stars inability to capitalize on a full two minute, five-on-three power play and three penalties taken by Melfort.
It would come back to haunt them as Mark Zvonkovic scored from the point to make it 3-0. The tally was the defenceman’s first as a member of the Mustangs since being traded from the Melville Millionaires.
The one-man scoring machine, Igor Leonenko, cut the deficit to two with a quick release snapshot from the slot, beating goaltender Richard Palmer. The goal was his 26th of the season and his 12th in his last eight games, while having at least one tally in each of the last four contests. No matter how you slice it, the forward from Belarus has been an absolute wrecking crew this month. Jordan Wiest set up the power play goal.
A bad change led to Frei’s second goal of the game, a five-on-three shorthanded mark. The forward capitalized on the mistake, picking up the puck on a breakaway before finding the back of the net for his 16th of the season, restoring the three-goal advantage.
In the final frame the North Stars poured on the pressure, outshooting the Mustangs 9-3, but Palmer stood tall in his net, kicking away 29 shots on the night for the victory.
The loss is the Battlefords first in four games. They have a chance to get back in the win column against Flin Flon Saturday.
The Bombers have been climbing the rankings as of late, now sitting in sixth place, having won five games in a row. Flin Flon has played extremely well against the North Stars this year, winning all three contests against them.
“Alex Smith, Brandon Switzer and Joel Kocur have been one of the most dynamic lines and we will have to be at our best to compete with them Saturday.” Head Coach Kevin Hasselberg said.
This will be the first time the Bombers have travelled to the Civic Centre, a tough place to play in hostile territory.
