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North Stars set to host Hawks for first time

Nov 15, 2016 | 12:53 PM

The push to keep the streak alive continues tonight at home for the North Stars, as they welcome the Nipawin Hawks to town in the midst of an 11-game winning streak.

This will be the first meeting of the season between the division leaders. Last year, the North Stars won three of the four head-to-head matchups.

Battlefords is currently first in the Finning Division at 19-5-0, while Nipawin is tied for first in the Sherwood Division at 11-5-2-0.

Juicy Matchup

There are a couple reasons this one should be a doozy.

For one, both teams boast the best goaltending in the league.

The duo of Joel Gryzbowski and Taryn Kotchorek has been absolutely dynamite this season for Battlefords, each with a stellar record. Gryzbowski is 9-1 with a 1.30 goals-against-average and .947 save percentage – both of which lead the league – while Kotchorek is 10-2 with a 2.09 G.A.A and .914 save percentage. The 10 wins for Kotchorek are third in the SJHL, while the nine wins for Gryzbowski are fourth.

In the other crease is Hawks netminder Kristian Stead, who has led the league for much of the season in save percentage, often swapping back and forth with Gryzbowski for top spot. Stead’s current numbers are still phenomenal: a .943 save percentage and 1.85 G.A.A., to go along with a 8-4-1 record.

Although tonight is unlikely to strictly be a goaltending battle (the North Stars rarely allow enough shots to make that a reality), it’s likely the score won’t be too high, thanks to the men behind the mask.

The other reason tonight’s game shouldn’t disappoint is because of the special teams numbers from both teams so far this season.

The Hawks have the best power play in the league, while the North Stars are fourth. Battlefords’ power play may have struggled in Saturday’s win over Kindersley, going 1-for-7 and failing to convert on a five-minute man advantage, but over the course of the season it is clicking at an impressive rate of 22 per cent. Nipawin is slightly better at 24.7 per cent.

In terms of penalty killing, the Hawks are second at 85.3 per cent and the North Stars are third at 83.9 per cent. Nipawin also has the most shorthanded goals in the league this season, with four (Battlefords has yet to allow a shorthanded goal against).

Lineup Changes

North Stars defenceman Connor Sych won’t be in the lineup for the North Stars for the third consecutive game. He missed both games against Kindersley with a lower body injury. There was a chance he would play but that was ruled out on Monday. The hope is he’ll be good to go on Friday at home against Melfort.

Conor Jensen also won’t play after he took a hit to the head from Klippers forward Ivan Vilcauskas in Saturday’s win. Vilcauskas was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct and will likely be suspended.

Top Line Back to Form

The trio of Ben Allen, Coby Downs, and Layne Young had a hell of a game on Saturday, combining for nine points. Downs led the way with two goals and two assists, while Young had three helpers (including his 100th career point), and Allen recorded a goal and an assist.

In the previous five games, the line had only combined for seven points.

Young is currently fifth in league scoring with 27 points. Downs is just outside of the top-20 in scoring with 20 points (he has only played 13 games) and Allen has 13 points in 13 games.

Puck drop tonight is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with the Ultra-Print pre-game show at 7:15 p.m. on CJNB/CJNS.

 

Nathan Kanter is battlefordsNOW’s sports reporter and voice of the Battlefords North Stars. He can be reached at Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca or tweet him @NathanKanter11