The Battlefords North Stars were the last team to score double digit goals in a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League game when they picked up a 10-3 win on Feb. 3 at home against the Notre Dame Hounds.
They repeated that feat in style Saturday, as the North Stars concluded their five-game road trip with an impressive 10-3 win over the Estevan Bruins at Affinity Place.
“We talked before the game about being a bit snake-bitten at times and that we have been gripping our sticks a little bit tight here lately,” North Stars general manager and head coach Nate Bedford said.
“Every once in awhile, when you go through games where you’re not scoring as much as you should, you start to doubt yourself a little bit. So it’s nice to see us rolling on offence like we did against Estevan.”
The win was also a nice bounce-back performance for the North Stars, who are second in the Finning Division with a 9-5-0-0 mark.
After defeating the Flin Flon Bombers in a pair of games last weekend to start off their road swing, the North Stars dropped a 4-2 decision to the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox Thursday and fell 4-3 to the host Weyburn Red Wings a night later.
“We got the first goal in this game, which was important, but the biggest thing was that we kept our momentum going,” Bedford said.
“We didn’t get comfortable out there or take our foot off of the gas pedal, and that was very important for us.”
The North Stars also had strong scoring depth in the win over Estevan as 10 players had multiple-point games.
Troy Gerein and Brett Horn had a goal and two assists each, while Ben Allen and Connor Logan both potted a pair of goals.
Layne Young, Coby Downs, Keaton Holinaty and McGregor Sinclair also found the back of the net.
“We have a pretty balanced approach up front,” Bedford said. “We have guys like (Reed) Delainey, Downs and Young who are very skilled, along with our 20-year-old line of Horn, Holinaty and Logan who expect to score.
“Then our other two lines don’t want to be called third or fourth liners, and you love to see that as a coach. We expect all of our lines to provide offence, but we also want them to be strong defensively.”
Friday’s setback in Weyburn marked the first time that the North Stars had suffered back-to-back losses all season.
“I don’t know if we got a ton better from the game a night ago against Notre Dame,” Bedford said after the game. “We gave up too many odd-man rushes and we weren’t able to capitalize on our scoring chances.
“I thought Weyburn played pretty well though. They were really good for the entire game and they did a good job of wearing us down.”
Logan Nachtegaele, Holinaty and Downs each scored for the North Stars Friday.
The North Stars found themselves in a hole early in Wilcox Thursday, as star rookie forward Adam Dawe gave the Hounds the lead just 49 seconds into the game.
Although Connor McIntosh scored his first career goal to tie the game up later in the opening frame, the Hounds were able to pull away in the middle portion of the contest and eventually held off a late comeback bid by the North Stars.
“It certainly took us far longer to get going than we would have liked,” Bedford said.
“We’re a resilient bunch, there’s no question about that, but you don’t want to use that part of your game every other night.”
Young had the other goal for the North Stars.
The North Stars will return to the Civic Centre Friday night when they take on the Humboldt Broncos for the first time this season.
The Broncos, who currently lead the Finning Division, have the best record in the SJHL this year with a 10-2-0-1 mark and are ranked 15th nationally.
A night later, the North Stars will travel back out on the road for a date with the La Ronge Ice Wolves.
