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Column: North Stars’ biggest threat a familiar one

Nov 17, 2016 | 1:00 PM

Having just passed the exact two-month mark of the SJHL season yesterday, I felt it would be a good time to evaluate the top talent in the league and examine who may pose the biggest threat to the North Stars.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably well aware Battlefords is doing well this season.

Really well.

They haven’t lost a game in over a month (since October 14, to be exact), they’ve never been outshot this season, and they’ve scored a whopping 52 goals more than they’ve allowed (102 for, 50 against).

During their current 12-game win streak, the North Stars are also firing roughly twice as many shots at the opposition as they’re allowing, averaging 45.83 shots on goal per game and allowing just 24.08 shots against. The North Stars are running away with first place in the league, with a 20-5-0 record.

But enough about Battlefords’ strong numbers of late – if you’re interested in just how good they are, read my last column.

Even though we’re not quite at the halfway mark of the season yet, Battlefords has now seen every team at least once, after beating the Nipawin Hawks on Tuesday 4-2.

The Hawks put up a good fight, firing over 31 shots on the North Stars, which is actually the second highest total allowed all season. But the Hawks didn’t seem to know how to press late in the game when they were trailing by two. They may have outshot the North Stars in the third 11-6, but they didn’t get too many quality scoring chances late in the game when they needed to start taking risks to try to get back into it.

Perhaps that’s because the Hawks are so used to holding onto leads, rather than playing from behind. The Hawks have only trailed after 40 minutes five times this season and have lost all five times, four times in regulation and once in overtime. When going into the third with a lead, Nipawin is a perfect 9-0-0.

So although the Hawks were certainly one of the tougher opponents for the North Stars this season, I do not think they pose the greatest threat.

If you look at the standings, the two teams directly trailing the North Stars are the Estevan Bruins with 33 points, and the Humboldt Broncos, with 31 points.

The North Stars are a 1-1 against the Bruins this year and 2-0 against the Broncos.

Could either of these teams pose the greatest threat to Battlefords?

I don’t believe so.

The Bruins may score goals at a scary pace (they have as many goals as the North Stars in one less game) but they also give up goals at a quicker pace than the 1974-75 Washington Capitals (if you’re not sure how bad the Caps were in their first season, look it up). Estevan’s 86 goals allowed this year are the second highest total in the league.

The North Stars even scored 10 goals against the Bruins in a win in October and it will be interesting to see how many they can muster this Saturday when Estevan visits the Civic Centre.

The Broncos are a more complete team than the Bruins, but I do wonder about their defence and goaltending. Defenceman Connor Swystun impressed me in the two games the Broncos and North Stars have faced off, but other than that nobody on their blue-line stood out. Goaltender Garrett Mason looked very strong in the North Stars 3-1 win on Nov. 5, but he has struggled as of late and only has a .909 save percentage this season.

The North Stars have already shown they can shut down the Broncos’ top offensive weapons, having surrendered just two goals in the two meetings between the two, and I think that can continue.

So if not the Broncos, Bruins, or Hawks, who could possibly challenge the North Stars?

I say the Flin Flon Bombers.

They are the only team in the league this season to muster over 40 shots against the North Stars, doing so in a 4-3 shootout loss to Battlefords on Oct. 7. And that was also before they acquired defenceman Eric Sinclair, arguably the best defenceman in the SJHL.

Sinclair has the best points-per-game in the league among defencemen, at 1.44, with 13 points in nine games. He is one of only three D-men to have over a point-per-game in the SJHL.

The Bombers’ record isn’t stellar, at 10-7-2-2, and of late they’re just 3-1-2, but all of those recent losses were one goal games. Plus, they’ve scored a whopping 33 goals over their last seven contests.

It’s also no secret the Bombers play a physical brand of hockey, and although North Stars head coach Nate Bedford says that’s how he likes his team to play, I don’t think it benefits the North Stars to have to put up with it, especially in a potential playoff series.

The North Stars have not forgotten their second-round playoff loss against the Bombers from last season and they’re probably hungry for a chance to get some revenge, but if there were a choice, I’d look to avoid facing the Bombers at all costs in the early rounds of the playoffs.

In my mind, it’s Flin Flon that poses the biggest threat to Battlefords run at a championship, at least thus far.

Circle Dec. 14 and 16 on your calendars – that’s when the Bombers visit the Civic Centre. It’ll be two games you won’t want to miss.

 

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