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North Stars rally in third to top Ice Wolves 5-2

Dec 9, 2017 | 12:11 AM

The Battlefords North Stars avoided a scare on Friday night against the La Ronge Ice Wolves, using four third period goals to come back and win the game 5-2.

The win improved the Stars record to 21-5-1, while La Ronge dropped to 6-21-0-2.

“I didn’t mind our first two periods,” North Stars head coach Brandon Heck said following the game, where the club trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes. “I thought in the second period we just didn’t bare down on a lot of our chances. Two or three crossbars, open nets where pucks are rolling or we’re not shooting quick enough so maybe there was a sense of panic that way but I thought we had a lot of zone time.”

MacGregor Sinclair opened the scoring thanks to a steal and dish from Dakota Huebner, but the Ice Wolves found the back of the twice in the second, first early on at even strength and then late on a 5-on-3 power play.

That power play marker for the Ice Wolves came with just 29 seconds left in the second period courtesy of Antonio Di Paolo, and also meant the North Stars would be shorthanded entering the third down 2-1.

“I know it’s easy for a lot of people to look at the standings and just assume La Ronge is going to be a pushover but they work hard and they’re tough to play in this building,” Heck said. “We can’t think that. I don’t think anything should think that because they’ve got some good players over there that played us tough and if we start disrespecting and playing that way, we’re not going to win again tomorrow.”

In the third, the North Stars awoke, and proved the game was still theirs for the taking.

They have their captain to thank for the revival.

Layne Young first tied the contest just 36 seconds in with a shorthanded tally, before assisting on Huebner’s go-ahead goal just three minutes later. Young would then set up Owen Lamb for an insurance marker to make it 4-2, before also assisting on the empty netter to seal the deal at 5-2.

Thanks to his standout performance, Young topped 200 career regular season points in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. His totals are now 203 points in just 139 games played.

“He doesn’t surprise me anymore,” Heck said of Young’s five-point performance on Friday. “The best part about him, what people have got to realize, is for how good of a player he is, he’s that good of a leader and that quality of a person off ice too. When you ask if there’s a sense of panic, there isn’t because you’ve got guys like him saying ‘Let’s get back to work.’

“He deserves all the credit he gets and he’s got a bright future in whatever he does, if it’s farming, hockey, or whatever.”

Taryn Kotchorek stood tall in goal for the North Stars, stopping 33 of 35 shots thrown his way to improve his record to 9-4-1 this season.

“He’s a winner,” Heck said of his veteran goaltender. “We go down 2-1 and he makes some key saves to keep it that way at the end of the second period. He locks it down for us. He finds ways to win games.”

Keith Anderson also returned to the lineup on Friday, well ahead of schedule and was once again a thorn in the side of the opposition. He didn’t find the scoresheet, but had plenty of chances and also consistently made his physical presence felt.

In addition to Young’s five points, linemates Sinclair and Huebner each had three points.

The North Stars and Ice Wolves will go at it again on Saturday night, this time in Pinehouse.

NorSask North Stars hockey gets underway once again at 7:15 p.m. with the Ultra Print pre-game show on CJNB/CJNS.

 

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11