North Stars first period leads to shutout win on Pink in the Rink night

“Jumped out to a fast start just like we planned,” North Stars assistatn coach Boyd Wakelin said after the team’s 37th win of the season. “Guys were driving the net just like we talked about before the game. I was just really impressed with how the guys stuck with the gameplan. It’s pretty easy to stray away from things. There were maybe a couple lapses where we trying to do a little too much, but just a couple reminders and we got back to playing a simple game.”

The North Stars are now 37-9-2 with 10 games remaining in the regular season, good enough for a 15 point lead in the Global Ag Risk Solutions division. They are three points away from clinching the division for the third straight season.

Getting things started off right on Friday was a new line of Connor McIntosh, Keith Anderson, and Troy Gerein, who was moved up to forward.

Gerein scored the game’s opening goal 18 seconds in, his fourth of the season, and that line was also out for Levi Kleiboer’s ninth goal of the season two minutes later.

“[Gerein] just jumped back in on forward like he’d been playing there all year and I thought he did a great job,” Wakelin said. “He brought that energy…and that physicality up front that maybe we’ve been lacking at times and he was going to all the dirty areas all night and finishing all his checks on the forecheck. Same with McIntosh. Same with [Anderson].”

Wakelin said the quick start may have had something to do with it being family and billet weekend, but also said in Thursday’s 2-1 win over Weyburn that they could have had a lot more goals as well.

“Two goals last game [but] we were around the net lots in that game,” Wakelin said. “They just weren’t going in so guys were just hungry [tonight]. Just going to the net and making things happen.”

The Ice Wolves did manage 33 shots on North Stars netminder Taryn Kotchorek, who stopped every single one of them for his fourth shutout of the season, which is the most in the SJHL. In his career, he now has 13 shutouts in 81 games, which is the new all-time record according to the SJHL. In his last five starts, Kotchorek has a .956 save percentage, 1.20 goals-against-average and two shutouts.

While Kotchorek held them in, Wakelin said turnovers at the bluelines resulted in too many odd-man rushes for La Ronge, and led to their high shot total.

“We kind of got away from, like I said, chipping pucks in and that’s where we were allowing them to get their chances, was just turning the puck over in those key areas,” Wakelin said. “Then in the d-zone maybe not communicating as much as you need to.”

Braid, Johnson, and Young each had three-point nights, with Johnson and Young each extending their respective point-streaks to seven games. Young has seven goals and 11 assists in those seven games, while Johnson has five goals and eight assists in those games. Young has 94 points on the season in 48 games.

The bad news from Friday’s win was defenceman Garan Magnes having to leave with a lower-body injury. He had to be helped off the ice by teammates and will be re-evaluated in the coming days. It’s highly unlikely he plays Saturday against the Notre Dame Hounds.

That game will close out a four game in five night stretch for Battlefords.

“[Got to] get out to a quick start, play on our toes,” Wakelin said. “We always play better when we’re moving forward and shooting the puck and going to those dirty areas to retrieve rebounds…That’s got to be our identity. We’ve got to push the pace and dictate the play.”

The Hounds lost 4-3 to Kindersley on Friday night.

If the North Stars win on Saturday and Humboldt loses to Weyburn, then the North Stars will clinch the division.

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11

by Nathan Kanter

North Stars first period leads to shutout win on Pink in the Rink night

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