Brandon Lesko and Layne Young each had a goal and two assists as the Stars beat the Saskatoon Blazers 6-2 Tuesday night at the Civic Centre.
The win was the seventh-straight win for the Stars. They are tied for first in the SMAAAHL with the Regina Pat Canadians. Both teams have 16 points.
The Blazers got off to a strong start, bolstered by an early power play. Saskatoon dominated possession of the puck for the first five minutes, outshooting the Stars 5-0.
Then, Stars forward Owen Lamb streaked down the left wing into the Blazers' zone. He centred a pass for Jared Hillis, who chipped the puck over Blazers goaltender Joel Grzybowski to make it a 1-0 game for the Stars on their first shot of the game. It was Hillis's first goal of the season.
The Stars took the first period over with the help of three Blazers penalties. Following the goal, Battlefords outshot 19-4 in the final 15 minutes of the period.
With less than three minutes left in the first period, the Stars added three goals. Lesko struck first in that span when he skated from the side boards, faked a cross-crease pass and slid the puck through Grzybowski's five hole with 2:56 left in the first. It was Lesko's sixth goal of the season.
Before they could announce the goal, Lesko was stopped by Grzybowski on a breakaway. Young was trailing the play, picked up the rebound and snapped the puck into the net for his sixth of the season 26 seconds after Lesko's goal.
The Stars' fourth goal of the period came in the dying seconds. Kyle Sallaway and Kaelen Holt broke into the Blazers' zone on a two-on-one attempt. Sallaway attempted to pass to Holt, but the puck bounced off Blazers defenceman Matthew Lenuik and past Gryzbowski. The deflection gave Sallaway his fourth goal of the year.
Early in the second, Sallaway and Holt almost scored a goal that was a mirror image of the one near the end of the first period. However, Sallaway sent the puck wide after receiving a pass from Holt.
The Blazers got on the board with a power-play goal. Shane Sherban jammed the puck past Stars goaltender Brett Pongracz 11 seconds into the man advantage.
Less than five minutes later, the Blazers made it a 4-2 game with their second power-play goal. Sherban found the back of the net again, this time seven seconds into the power play. It was the second goal on three shots for the Blazers in the second period.
After the power plays, the Stars put the pressure back on the Blazers. Rett Taggert entered the Blazers' zone and made a toe-drag move around Saskatoon defenceman Noah Loorman. However, Taggert's shot was stopped by Grzybowski.
Later in the second, Dawson Bacon found Holt skating into the zone off the bounce. Bacon hit Holt with a cross-rink pass, but Grzybowski slid across to keep the puck out of his net. The Stars outshot the Blazer 19-4 in the period, but were unable to find the back of the net.
It was almost a 4-3 game in the third period with the Blazers on the power play again. With Traye Tkatchuk in the box for cross-checking, Reese Johnson was set up with a one-timer in the low slot. Stars defenceman Keegan McBride made a great defensive play by getting his leg down to block the shot.
During the same penalty, Young went on a shorthanded rush into the Blazers' zone. He made a move to split the two Saskatoon defenders across the face of the net. Young fired a shot back to his right, but Grzybowski got his left pad on the puck to make the save.
Late in the third, the Stars put the game out of reach. Taylor Headrick was given a four-minute penalty for head contact with 4:08 to play. A minute into the penalty, Tkatchuk snapped a puck from the top of the faceoff circle past Grzybowski's glove for his first goal of the year to give the Stars a 5-2 lead.
Shortly after on the same power play, Buziak tacked on his first of the year with 2:12 left in the game, putting the Stars up 6-2.
Pongracz stopped 18 shots to pick up his sixth win of the season. In the Blazers' loss, Grzybowski made 44 saves.
The Stars (8-1-0-0) are back on the ice again Thursday night at the Civic Centre as they go for their eighth-straight win when they face off with the defending Telus Cup champion Prince Albert Mintos. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.
Battlefords also plays Sunday afternoon against the Saskatoon Contacts. Game time is 2 p.m.
