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North Stars host Bombers in crucial game seven

The Battlefords North Stars are down to their last chance to finish off the Flin Flon Bombers in their quarter-final series. Game seven goes at the Civic Centre Tuesday night between the two teams, who are tied at three games apiece.
Battlefords North Stars logo

The Battlefords North Stars are down to their last chance to finish off the Flin Flon Bombers in their quarter-final series.

Game seven goes at the Civic Centre Tuesday night between the two teams, who are tied at three games apiece.

The North Stars had taken a 3-0 lead early on in the series, but the Bombers have come back. They got two overtime wins, one of them coming in triple-overtime at the Civic Centre Friday, and then took a wild and penalty-filled sixth game 6-4 at the Whitney Forum on Sunday. 

The North Stars have been led throughout the series by the strong goaltending of Joel Grzybowski, who posted a game one shutout.

But since then the team has been plagued by a lack of scoring, and a looming question now is whether fatigue will play a role after two long road trips back and forth to Flin Flon during this series.

In game six, the North Stars got the opening goal in the first period from Austin Becker on the power play, with Quintin and Elijah Loon-Stewardson assisting.

But the Bombers took the lead on goals by Alec Cokley and Caleb Franklin to give them the lead through one.

Cody Spagrud tied it on the power play 15 seconds into period two, and then at the 1:51 mark Seth Summers gave the North Stars the lead. Jack Michell tied it up 3-3 seconds soon after but Brett Gammer’s goal at 5:32 restored the North Stars lead, and that would hold up until the third period.

In the third, Caleb Moretz tied it up 4-4 at the 6:14 mark, and then a costly Battlefords too-many-men penalty led to Cade Kowalski’s goal at the 13:20 mark.

A slashing call by Macgregor Sinclair more or less killed off any hope for the North Stars at the 17:48 mark, but the North Stars pulled their goalie anyway. Daylan Marchi’s goal into the empty net sealed it up 6-4.

The North Stars outshot the Bombers 46-40 but Gabriel Waked stopped 42 shots in getting the win. Grzybowski stopped 34 of 39 in defeat for the North Stars, who must hope he returns to dominance on Tuesday night, or else the season is over.       

The Bombers-North Stars game is one of three playoff Game Sevens in the SJHL scheduled for Tuesday night. The other games see Humboldt at Estevan and Yorkton at Nipawin.