The Battlefords North Stars moved closer on Tuesday to clinching first overall in the SJHL, but it wasn’t easy against Notre Dame.
They needed an overtime goal from their captain Matthew Fletcher in overtime to stave off a Hounds comeback, and won 4-3.
“Obviously Notre Dame gave us all they could handle,” said head coach Brayden Klimosko, who added that their “leaders found a way to win… our big guys were big in the end.”
For a good portion of the game it looked like the North Stars had things under control. Austin Becker got things started with his 19th of the season midway through the first period, and then Seth Summers got his 12th of the season at the 15:56 mark to make it 2-0. But Ben Hamilton’s power play goal brought Notre Dame to within one after the first period.
In the second the North Stars added to their lead with Jaxon Steele’s 11th of the season at the seven minute mark. But with Steele off for high sticking and Matthias Urbanski off for playing with a broken stick, Braydon Iwaschuk scored on the two-man advantage at 19:12 to make it 3-2.
Iwaschuk then tied the game in period three with a breakaway shorthanded goal at the 17:22 mark to stun the audience at the Civic Centre.
But Fletcher’s goal with 2:34 remaining in overtime, Elijah Loon-Stewardson assisting, gave the North Stars the win. Overall the Hounds were outshot 49-32; Austin Schwab got the win in net for the North Stars.
The win moved the North Stars to 42-8-2-0 for 86 points, 15 ahead of Flin Flon who have nine games remaining on their schedule. The North Stars have a chance to clinch first overall with a win in their next game versus Flin Flon on Friday night.
