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North Stars go on epic northeast road trip

If there was one area still an unknown for the Battlefords North Stars in the early part of the season, it was how they would react to their first truly lengthy stretch of time away from the Civic Centre.
Battlefords North Stars logo

If there was one area still an unknown for the Battlefords North Stars in the early part of the season, it was how they would react to their first truly lengthy stretch of time away from the Civic Centre.


The team was headed into their first extended stretch away from home this season, starting with a trip to Centennial Arena in Nipawin Friday and then up to the Whitney Forum in Flin Flon Saturday.


That was to follow up with a trip to Warman for the Showcase, with the North Stars not due to return to the Civic Centre until Oct. 16.


North Stars 2 Nipawin 1 (OT)


The North Stars did not get off to a good start in their game against the Nipawin Hawks.


Nipawin outshot the North Stars 18-4 in the period, but incredible goaltending by Ryan Rewerts kept the North Stars and Nipawin Hawks scoreless. On the radio postgame show, North Stars coach Kevin Hasselberg referred to Rewerts as a "one man show" for his performance on the night.


After a scoreless first period, the Hawks' league-leading goal scorer got their team on the board first. With the North Stars' Braydon Buziak in the box for tripping, Kris Spriggs, who had a hat trick against the North Stars the week before, got his 11th goal of the season at the 11:28 mark from Garrett Dunlop and Evan Mignault.


But the North Stars tied it later in the period. Buziak, from Coby Downs and Connor Sych, tied it at 1-1 at the 16:29 mark on a power play goal, with Nicholas Riemer serving time for interference.


The score remained deadlocked well into the third period despite the Hawks badly out shooting the North Stars in the game 37-18. Despite three power play opportunities in the period, the game went into overtime.


In overtime, the North Stars had a golden opportunity to win as they went on the power play due to a too-many-men penalty assessed to the Hawks.
With 14 seconds left in the power play, Dustin Gorgi found the back of the net on a rebound shot from Troy Gerein.


The North Stars had themselves a big road victory to move to 6-1 on the season, setting up a happy bus ride to Flin Flon the following evening.


Flin Flon 8 North Stars 4


The red-hot Rewerts got the start in net again the following night in Flin Flon, but it would prove to be a long night for him and the rest of the North Stars.
Jordan Wiest got the first goal of the game from Leonenko and Young, but then the Bombers scored three in a row — Brandon Switzer on the power play, and then Jon Marzek and Joel Kocur to make it 3-1 Flin Flon after one.


In the second Alex Smith made it 4-1 Bombers, but Jake McMillen cut the margin to 2 with Gorgi and Gerein assisting.


Then Braydon Buziak got a shorthanded goal 2:01 into the third period to cut the margin to 4 to 3. A power play goal restored the two-goal margin briefly, but Leonenko answered to make it 5-4.


Then the roof fell in. Brandon Lesko scored with six minutes left, and the Bombers added two more to make it an 8-4 final score, dropping the North Stars to 6-2.


It was a game to forget, but the North Stars needed to shake it off quickly as they headed to Warman for the Showcase, with Estevan and Humboldt their next opponents.