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North Stars shine with two wins during weekend

The hockey-heavy weekend went well for the Battlefords North Stars, as they came away with two wins in three games.

The hockey-heavy weekend went well for the Battlefords North Stars, as they came away with two wins in three games. They finished the weekend second place in the Global Ag Risk Solutions Division, a point ahead of the Kindersley Klippers, and six behind the league leading Humboldt Broncos.

 

North Stars 3 Bombers 1

The North Stars managed to come out on the winning of a low-scoring affair Friday night against the Flin Flon Bombers.

The first period was a penalty-fest as the Bombers got five penalties against the North Stars four. Infractions included some fancy stick-work from Flin Flon in the form of high sticking and two slashing calls, while the North Stars got two interference calls, along with slashing and roughing penalties.

The rivals stayed out of the box considerably more in the second, while the Bombers contained the North Stars after the home team got 19 shots versus the Bombers’ seven-shot first period performance.

The brick wall efforts of Bomber goalie Pierce Diamond paid off or the Manitoba visitors as Calvon Boots scored the first goal of the game. Not two minutes later, the North Stars returned on the attack and defenseman Jacob Bayne and captain Cody Spagrud pulled ahead.

North Stars goalie Joel Grzybowski shone in the third as Flin Flon tried to muster some chances but had difficulty breaking out of their defensive zone.

North Stars forward Regan Doig’s hard play earned him a total of fourteen penalties minutes including a boot, along with Flin Flon’s Isaac Jackson, two seconds before the final buzzer.

Bombers 5 North Stars 4

The Flin Flon Bombers responded with a win Saturday night.

The flying’ Manitobans opened the scoring in the first period with two goals from Dawson McKenzie, followed by Isaac Jackson. The usually solid North Stars’ goaltender Joel Grzybowski allowed two goals on seven shots in the first.

Bomber Vincent Nardone made the North Stars’ uphill climb steeper as he scored less than two minutes into the second on a power play. The North Stars kept at it, however, as Brett Gammer scored for the home team less than a minute after the Bombers’ third goal. North Star Dylan Esau’s holding call led to a Flin Flon power play where Calvon Boots scored his sixth of the season.

The North Stars didn’t give up and brought the game within range again, after goals from Noah Form and Matthias Urbanski before the end of the second. The North Stars did press throughout the period, registering a total 25 shots, but Bomber goalie Pierce Diamond held steady.

The third period got off to a bad start for the North Stars as Bomber Chrystopher Collin scored his eighth goal of the year. The North Stars had their chances, including halfway through the period. Quintin Loon-Stewardson scored shortly after a roughing penalty to make the score 5-4, but the home team couldn’t muster another goal before the end of the game.

Each team got six power plays, but the Bombers took advantages of their chances, scoring three power play goals to the North Stars’ zero.

 

North Stars 3 Red Wings 1

The North Stars went one and one against the Flin Flon Bombers, but sent the Weyburn Red Wings packing.

The hometown blew out of the gate as they have lately and fired 19 shots in the first period against Weyburn’s seven. Ryan Granville scored six minutes into the period with a helper from Matthias Urbanski.

The penalty box was much less occupied Sunday night compared to what it was in previous nights. The North Stars’ only penalties included a high-sticking call to Quintin Loon-Stewardson (which upset fans on the north end of the stadium) and a roughing call to Braydon Buziak. The North Stars’ only goal of the period came from Ryan Gil.

Weyburn regrouped and shifted momentum early in the third period as Red Wing Jevon Schwean potted a goal with assists from captain Cade Kowalski and Ben Hiltz. But they couldn’t muster any goals, and North Star Owen Lamb scored empty netter.

The North Stars next game is against the Nipawin Hawks Friday, Nov. 23, and then they take on Kindersley the day after.