By Craig Beauchemin

North Stars hammer Bombers in heated affair

Feb 27, 2016 | 8:03 AM

The Battlefords North Stars hadn’t beaten the Flin Flon Bombers this season when they welcomed them to the Civic Centre Friday night. That changed in a big way.

The North Stars offense exploded as they ran the Bombers out of the building with a 9-1 win on Feb. 26.

It all started just 34 seconds into the game when Reed Delainey chipped in a rebound off Jake McMillen, for his 14th of the season.

Four minutes later, Igor Leonenko took a pass from Coby Downs while flying down the right wing, cut to the front of the net and beat goaltender Zac Robidoux over the glove for his 39th of the year.

Four minutes later, Leonenko picked up a rebound off a Downs shot for his 40th of the season to give the North Stars a 3-0 lead.

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He wasn’t done there. Connor Sych took a shot from the point and Leonenko deflected it in the slot for the natural hat trick to make it 4-0.

Late in the period on the power play, Downs feathered a pass cross ice to McMillen who tipped the puck past Robidoux to score his 29th of the year.

The North Stars held a 5-0 lead after the first period with the shots just 12-4 in their favour.

In the second period it was more of the same as four and a half minutes in, Young tipped a shot from the point past Robidoux while on the power play to make it 6-0.

Eleven minutes after – Young’s 23rd of the year – McMillen picked up his second when he beat Robidoux on a wraparound for his 30th of the season.

Early in the third, the Bombers finally got on the board when Joel Kocur knocked in his own rebound just 1:03 into the period to make it 7-1. Kocur has five goals and five assists in five games against the North Stars this season.

It didn’t take long for the North Stars to answer back as at 4:22, while on the power play, Troy Gerein wound up for a big slap shot from the left point and beat Robidoux through the five-hole for his fourth of the season.

Just over the halfway point of the third, things got heated in a big way. Alex Smith, the SJHL’s second leading scorer, inexplicably started punching Young in the face along the boards after Robidoux covered the puck. It resulted in all 10 players on the ice which subsequently resulted in all 10 of them being tossed from the game.

Levi Kleiboer, Kendall Fransoo, Young, Downs and Leonenko were all tossed for the North Stars while Smith, Mason Etter, Jason Lavalle, Pierre-Luc Morin and Kocur were all thrown out for the Bombers. Flin Flon also lost Mitch Foyle, Nick Shumlanski and Curtis Roach to misconducts in the third period. At the end of the game, the Bombers had just five extra skaters on the bench.

The North Stars would add one more goal in the third as the puck bounced off the shin pad of McMillen and into the net to complete the hat trick with his 31st of the season.

The win matched a season high for the North Stars with their seventh straight victory. They’re right back in action Saturday against the Bombers for the final matchup of the season.

Email: cjnbsports@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @craig_beauch