North Stars’ lackadaisical start overshadows comeback
It took a while to get going, but the Battlefords North Stars topped a much younger Humboldt Broncos squad 5-4 in overtime in pre-season action on Tuesday night at the Civic Centre.
They fired 25 shots on goal in the first period alone — to Humboldt’s eight — but the team admitted most of those were fringe shots that weren’t difficult for Humboldt netminder Isaac Labelle to stop.
After falling behind 4-1 early in the third, the North Stars erased a three-goal deficit to force overtime — something that was a good sign — but simply meant the North Stars’ first 40 minutes wasn’t up to snuff, according to head coach Brandon Heck.
“We were sloppy and emotionless until the eight-minute mark of the third period,” Heck said following the win. “I want to compare it to the Bonnyville [loss Sunday]. The benches were chirping back and forth and it took us until the eight-minute mark of the third period before we got any emotion.”