Battlefords Stars head coach Norm Johnston had a big smile on his face Sunday afternoon at the Civic Centre.
After what had been a busy week for his team, the Stars had earned six points from four games, improved their record to 9-10 and gained a three-point cushion over the Beardy’s Blackhawks for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League.
“It looks like we’re starting to put together a good team here,” Johnston said. “There were a few times there early on where I wasn’t sure it was going to happen, but the guys have worked really hard and their parents have allowed us to work with them to get better.
“It’s been a tough time here as I have myself as a new coach on a full-time basis with a lot of new players, so we’re all trying to get used to one another. However, our goal was to get to .500 by Christmas and right now we are one win away from that.”
After dropping a 5-2 decision to the Prince Albert Mintos Thursday in a makeup game at the Art Hauser Centre, the Stars rebounded with 7-5 and 5-2 triumphs at home over the Moose Jaw Generals over the weekend.
“That game on Saturday was a pretty hairy one, but I was really happy with how things went Sunday,” Johnston said.
“We’ve played a lot of hockey in a short amount of time here with the Regina Pat Canadians here last weekend and the Saskatoon Contacts on the road Tuesday before we even went to Prince Albert. It’s been a tough stretch against some good teams, but I’m pretty excited as we have a lot of guys that are playing well.”
Adam Beckman led the way in Saturday’s high-scoring affair with two goals and an assist, while Shayde Peterson had a goal and two assists for the Stars and Ty Mosimann dished out three helpers.
Tye Scherger, Logan Spence, Damon McKenzie and Matthew Flodell also scored for the hosts, who received a 29-save performance from Carter Serhyenko.
In Sunday’s rematch, Mosimann had three assists for the second straight game, while Scherger and Flodell both potted a pair of goals.
Beckman also found the back of the net, defenceman Brayden Serhyenko had two assists and Joseph Young made 40 saves.
“I know Beckman and Mosimann are putting up a lot of points right now, along with McKenzie, but we have a number of different players that are starting to step up here lately,” Johnston said.
“If you look at guys like Flodell, Scherger, Ian Hillis, Dylan Esau, and a number of others that are doing great things for us, you never know who it’s going to be that steps up on any given night.”
Lethbridge Hurricanes defensive prospect Nolan Jones had a pair of goals for the visitors Saturday, while Casey McDonald, Jaxsen Wiebe and Jake Palmer also scored.
Jaxon Georget and Evan Sare found the back of the net Sunday for the Generals, who have a 5-12-0-3 record and sit in a tie for 10th place in the SMAAAHL standings with the Saskatoon Blazers.
“We weren’t very good at all Saturday,” Generals head coach Ray Wareham said. “We didn’t start off well and then we shot ourselves in the foot when we got back into the game. When you have a really young and inexperienced team like we do, that can happen sometimes.
“I thought our work ethic was a lot better Sunday, but it just felt like every bounce was going the other way. We can’t fault the guys for how hard they played, but I think they were deserving of a better fate.”
The Generals and the Blazers are both five points back of the Stars for the final playoff spot in the league.
In Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Mintos, Beckman and Hillis both scored for the Stars and Young made 26 saves.
The Mintos were led by rookie forwards Parker Fofonoff and Josh Pillar, who each had two-goal nights.
With a busy stretch of their schedule now out of the way, the Stars will now have some time off before they head out on the road on Thursday, Dec. 7 to face the Blackhawks.
“It’s not a sprint, it’s a long race where you want to see the guys progressing well,” Johnston said. “We’re getting to know each other a lot better, and I’m pretty excited about what’s next.”
The Stars will return to the Civic Centre on Saturday, Dec. 9 when they will take on a Tisdale Trojans squad that are tied for first place in the league with the Pat Canadians.
