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Sharks swept by Stars

The final regular season home games for the Battleford Sharks saw a pair of polar opposite results.
Jordan Klubida Stars
Battlefords Sharks captain Jordan Kulbida fired a long-range shot on goal against the Saskatoon Stars at the Battleford Arena Sunday. Photo by Lucas Punkari

The final regular season home games for the Battleford Sharks saw a pair of polar opposite results.

After matching up well with the Saskatoon Stars in a 5-2 loss at the Battleford Arena Saturday night, the Sharks had a tough afternoon in their rematch with the top team in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League Sunday afternoon as they lost by a score of 11-1.

“There was no effort on our part,” Sharks head coach Gary Berggren said. “Right from the drop of the puck, we were outskated by them until the end of the game.

“On Saturday, I felt we played our best game of the season. We had a couple of breakdowns and we lost by a couple of goals, but I felt like the entire team played really well.”

The biggest difference between the two games, according to Berggren, was how well the Sharks were able to slow down an impressive Stars offence.

“Their speed is incredible,” Berggren said. “They have so much talent on their forward lines and that makes them a very good team.

“Our main game plan was to try and clog up the middle and keep them to the outside, which is where most of their shots came from Saturday. It was a different story on Sunday though, as we ended up getting caught deep in their end of the ice and we gave up too many odd-man rushes.”

Willow Slobodzian led the way for the Stars on Saturday with a goal and an assist, while Katlin Jockims, Kianna Dietz, Grace Shirley and Joelle Fiala also scored.

Sunday’s win, which was the 12th in a row for the 23-2-1 Stars, was highlighted by a four-goal afternoon from Mackenna Parker.

“We’re generally pleased with how we played during the weekend, but I don’t think Sunday’s game was a true indication of how Battlefords plays,” Stars assistant coach Curtis Leschyshyn said.

“They are a good hard-working team and they did an excellent job of clogging up the scoring area Saturday and we weren’t able to capitalize on our scoring chances as much in that game.”

The Sharks, who have lost their last six games, got goals from Jordan Kulbida and Ashlee Wolfe Saturday night while Dakota Peterson found the back of the net Saturday.

Next up for the Sharks, who have a 6-19-1 record, are two road games against the Swift Current Wildcats this weekend to wrap up the regular season.

“Swift Current has two really good offensive players (Taylor Lind and Chloe Smith) so we’ll need to focus on shutting them down,” Berggren said.

“We also need to get some more traffic in front of the net. We’re getting a fair amount of shots at the moment, but we just aren’t hitting the net.”

The SFMAAAHL season wraps up on Sunday, with the playoffs slated to being at the end of the month.

Depending on how the final weekend of the regular season plays out, the Sharks will play either the Prince Albert Northern Bears or the Regina Rebels in a best-of-five quarter-final series.