Through three games in the season, the Battlefords Midget AAA Stars hadn't lost, winning two games and tying the other.
On home ice taking on the Saskatoon Blazers for the second straight game, the team didn't look interested in being handed their first notch in the "L" column. They were led by a dominant effort from their first line, with Joshua Bly, Spencer Bast and Graham Gove combining for seven points.
The Stars started the game strong, but took the first penalty in the first period when Layne Young went off for holding. Typically, it's the goaltender who has to be the best penalty killer, but defenceman Traye Tkatchuk was every bit as good as Rylan Toth for the two-minute penalty. Tkatchuk was a force in front of the net, giving Toth a clear path to see the shots, which he stopped with ease.
It was only when the Stars went on the powerplay that the Blazers were able to get any offence going. Kristian St. Onge stripped the puck off a Stars defenceman just inside the blue line with a little more than eight minutes remaining in the period and beat Toth over the right shoulder with a lethal wrist shot.
Not to be outdone, Stars leading scorer Bly tallied his sixth assist of the early season to tie the game. After getting the puck from Brandon Lesko, Bly danced through the slot and, as goaltender Austin Swystun slid towards him to cut down the angle, he feathered the puck to Spencer Bast who made no mistake popping the puck into the gaping cage for a powerplay tally.
Aside from a Bly scoring chance shortly after, the period ended quietly with the Stars leading 11-7 in shots.
Toth stole the show to start the second. The Blazers had the clear edge, but Toth gobbled up three straight shots through traffic leaving no rebounds available and calmed the game down.
Then, with six minutes left, the Stars scored a pair of meat and potato goals, started by the top-line trio. Bast and Gove were banging away in the crease when the puck popped loose and found Bly, who notched his first of the season.
Forty seconds later, Logan Nachtegaele got his first point of the season with a goal to make it 3-1. The play started when Keifer Hintz stole the puck at the side of the Blazers' net and a rebound eventually found Nachtegaele who put it home. Bryce Neufeld got the other assist on the play.
Closer to the end of the period, Bast scored his second goal of the game. With Bly and Gove working hard behind the net, the puck found Bast, who was left all alone in front, and he put it upstairs in a hurry.
After a hard-hitting second, the rough stuff took little time to make an appearance in the third. Lesko scored two minutes into the frame and after the goal, Nick Lenius of the Blazers started shoving with Josh LaFramboise when a fight broke out. It was LaFramboise's first game back from a suspension carrying over from last season.
Shortly after, the Stars went on the powerplay and scored 10 seconds in when the puck found Neufeld camped at the side of the net.
The powerplay was on fire in the third. With 11 minutes left, Hintz tipped a shot from Troy Gerien five-hole to give the Stars a commanding 7-2 lead.
With 33 seconds left, Neufeld scored again and, once again, on the powerplay. He got a pass from Hintz and slapped it top corner despite being at a bad angle for the eighth and final goal.
With the victory, the Stars are 3-0-1 to start the season, which has them behind only the Yorkton Harvest in the standings. Bly and Gove continue to lead the team in points. They now have eight apiece through four games.
Toth made 22 saves in the win while Swystun made 35. The rough game also led to a combined 54 penalty minutes.
The team is back in action Thursday night against the Beardy's Blackhawks.
