It’s not a secret that the Stars are one of the hottest teams in the SMAAAHL. After splitting a series against the third place Moose Jaw Generals, they were at it again in Notre Dame.
Coming into the weekend, the Stars were 5-1 in January.
They got their sixth win of the month with a big goal from veteran forward Tanner Brewster late in the final frame, edging the Argos 4-3.
Keelan Saworski continued his dominance in the second half of the season by scoring the first goal less than a minute into the tilt. He now has recorded five tallies since the Christmas break, and 16 on the season. Owen Lamb, who has also had a tremendous season to date, now has six assists in 2016 after finding Saworski to give the Stars a 1-0 lead.
Notre Dame tied the game after Jordan Neuenschwander beat Lance Alm with just over ten minutes to play in the opening period. The goal was the rookies ninth of the season. Curtis Wiebe had the helper.
Nayte Zip restored the lead for the Stars. The rookie has contributed offensively since donning the black and white jersey, scoring his fourth in 23 games played. First year JC Dubecky and Dayton Buchanan collaborated on the goal.
The offensive flurry and fourth goal of the period came at the hands of Leighton Burns-Marion, who scored his first of the campaign. Everett Hicks came through with his 17th helper this year. The mark deadlocked the teams at two after 20 minutes.
The Stars had four opportunities on the man advantage, converting just one, but it was a big goal that gave them a 3-2 lead in the second. Ben Hiltz scored his ninth of the year after corralling a pass from Lamb, beating Riley Higdon. Dawson Bacon registered the second helper on the goal.
Notre Dame and the Stars continued to exchange blows in the third period, while Eamon Milligan tied the game up for the red and white once again. Troy Feldbusch and Artem Chupin played pitch and catch before setting up Milligan for his eighth of the year.
With just seven minutes left, Brewster tallied his 14th of the campaign, scoring the game winner after receiving a pass from Mason Mullaney. Dubecky found the score sheet for the second time with the second assist.
In net, Edmonton Oil Kings draft pick, Lance Alm, has been a calming influence for the Stars, walking away with the win in a 22 save effort.
The rookie goalie had yet to lose in 2016, posting a 5-0 record after Saturday.
The penalty kill unit had a solid game for the black and white, killing off all three penalties they faced.
The Stars stayed in Notre Dame for a back-to-back series against the Hounds at the Duncan McNeill Arena Sunday.
Even though they would fall 5-4, the Stars displayed incredible resiliency, continuously battling back.
The Stars are showing the rest of the SMAAAHL that they are contenders and can compete with each team in the league regardless of their record.
Cole Kirkup set up Adam Dawe to kick off the scoring, giving the Hounds a 1-0 lead two minutes into the first period.
Ben Hiltz then scored his second of the weekend while hitting the milestone with his 10th of the campaign, tying the game up at one. Luke Reid and Keelan Saworski collaborated on the tally. The goal was one of two power play marks for the black and white.
The Hounds rattled off two unanswered goals from Dominic Schmiemann, and a mark on the man advantage from Lucas Fraulin, before Mullaney cut the deficit to one in the second period.
Mullaney received a Jayden Nachtegaele pass before depositing his seventh goal of the year. Fresh off his game winner, Brewster registered the second assist.
Lamb and Saworski are teaming up to be quite the duo this season, collaborating on a power play goal, bringing the Stars all the way back in a 3-3 game.
Mullaney continued his scoring ways in the middle frame while giving the Battlefords their first lead of the game, capping off three unanswered tallies. Keegan McBride got on the score sheet, setting Mullaney up.
In the final 20 minutes, however, the Hounds would takeover.
It started with Kirill Tarasov taking a feed from Jared Power before firing his 12th of the season past Alm. Schmiemann had the second helper, giving him two points on the day. The defenceman wasn’t done, either.
Schmiemann buried the game winning goal with nine minutes left on the power play. Zach Kosteniuk and Dawe delivered the assists.
For as good as the penalty kill unit was Saturday, it really hurt the Stars against the Hounds, going 0 for 2.
Alm made back-to-back starts this weekend, stopping 23 of 28 shots, and losing his first game of 2016.
On the other end of the rink Reid Cooper replaced Tanner Douglas for the third period and went a perfect five for five in the crease.
On deck for the black and white is a Thursday night home game against Beardy’s Blackhawks.
