Josh LaFramboise and Troy Gerein each scored twice to lead the Battlefords AAA Stars to a 7-1 victory in game one of their best-of-five SMAAAHL semifinal series against the Prince Albert Mintos Tuesday night at the Civic Centre.
LaFramboise has six goals in four playoff games. Gerein has three in the postseason.
It was a back and forth start to the first period. Each team had possessions, but they were unable to generate any chances. Neither team registered a shot for the first four minutes of the game.
The first shots came while the Stars were on the power play. After Josh Bly drew a hooking penalty, he set up a cross-ice one-timer to LaFramboise, who was stopped by Mintos goaltender Lane Michasiw. Battlefords had three shots on the power play.
Lance Yaremchuk of Prince Albert had his first of three redirections during the game shortly after the goal. Loch Morrison put a shot towards the net and Yaremchuk got his stick on it, but the puck went wide of the net.
Spencer Bast set up a nice scoring chance for the Stars. He passed to Bly from behind the net. Bly made a move in tight on Michasiw, but was unable to stuff the puck past the Mintos goaltender's left pad.
Battlefords struck first after a Prince Albert turnover. Bast recovered the puck in front of the Mintos' net. He slid it through Michasiw's five hole from the top of the crease with 10:19 to play in the first.
The lead did not last long. With Bryce Neufeld in the box for boarding, the Mintos scored with the man advantage. Jared Blaquiere redirected Dakota Boutin's point shot, which was going wide past Stars goaltender Rylan Toth to tie the game with 8:32 remaining.
The Stars regained their lead before the end of the period. Battlefords were applying pressure in the Mintos' zone. Bast took a pass in the bottom corner along the boards. Gerein received a pass from Bast in front of the net and snapped it past Michasiw's blocker with 58 seconds to play in the frame.
Battlefords scored quickly to open the second period. LaFramboise beat Michasiw with a one-timer from the slot 35 seconds into the period to put the Stars up 3-1.
Gerein got his second of the game on a Stars' power play midway through the second. He skated in from the side boards on the right and beat Michasiw's blocker again to make it a three-goal lead.
Toth was not tested often in the second, but made saves when necessary. He was forced to make a reaction save after Yaremchuk tipped Rhys Kipling's shot from the point.
A stretch pass near the end of the period set up the Stars' fifth goal. Neufeld passed from blue line to blue line to find LaFramboise. On his way to the net, LaFramboise took a slash, but was able to slide the puck past Michasiw to give the Stars a 5-1 lead with 3:11 left in the second.
In the third, the Stars capitalized on another Prince Albert penalty. The puck was passed around the zone until it landed on Alex Pernitsky's stick. His slap shot from the left point beat Michasiw and knocked the goaltender's water bottle off the top of his net 6:35 into the frame.
Battlefords added a seventh goal late in the third. With 3:27 left to play, Michael Korol chased down a loose puck, beating both Prince Albert defencemen to it. Korol approached the net and snapped the puck under Michasiw's glove to give the Stars a 7-1 lead.
Toth was strong in the third for the Stars. He stopped Yaremchuk's one-timer from between the faceoff circles. The Battlefords netminder made a few good saves on a power play late in the period as Prince Albert pressed for a late goal to get some momentum heading into the second game. Toth made 16 saves in the third to keep the Mintos' goal total at one.
Toth made 29 saves on the night to pick up his fourth win of the postseason. Michasiw stopped 23 shots in the loss.
Game two of the series is Thursday night in Prince Albert. The series returns to the Civic Centre for game three Saturday afternoon. Puck drop is 1 p.m.
