By Martin Martinson

Stars set for early bird start vs. Hawks

Dec 16, 2018 | 1:00 PM

The Battlefords North Stars return to action tonight for the final time before the Christmas break, as the team welcomes the league-leading Nipawin Hawks back to the Civic Centre for the second-straight game.

The North Stars are 2-1-1 through the first half of December, with an 18-9-6 record overall through their first 33 games, good for 42 points and third in the Global Ag. Risk Solutions Division.

The Hawks, meanwhile, sit atop the Sherwood Division and standings as a whole, with a 24-9-1 record through their first 34 games.

Nipawin’s loss to the Stars last Tuesday marked the team’s first defeat in eight games, and the group has since bounced back with a win over La Ronge Saturday.

The Nipawin Hawks boast the league’s top defence and, at least on paper, no other team is close. The birds of prey are the only team to average less than a goal against per game for the season, having allowed just 64 goals against.

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A large reason for Nipawin’s prowess in stifling their opposition’s offence has been the air-tight defensive system implemented by Hawks’ coach Doug Johnson, supplemented further by the elite play of their goaltenders, regardless of who’s in the crease.

Johnson is the two-time defending Coach of the Year for the SJHL and has won the award three times overall since joining the Hawks as head coach and GM in 2010. With Johnson behind the bench spearheading things, Nipawin’s hockey program has only continued to flourish, having reached the semifinals of the playoffs each of the last four years, including leading his team to the Canalta Cup as league champions last season.

Also taking home hardware last season was Hawks starter Declan Hobbs, who was named the recipient of Top Goaltender honours, a feat he looks destined to repeat once again this season. Hobbs leads all goalies in virtually every stat category, with a minute 1.75GAA and sparkling .942sv%, providing his team with confidence in front of him.

Although Hobbs doesn’t get a lot of nights off, when he does, the confidence of the Hawks as a group has remained extremely flush, thanks to the play of the club’s backup, Patrick Pugliese.

In his rookie season in the Saskatchewan League, Pugliese has been dynamite through the first half of the season. Having played 11 games so far, the 19-year-old from Pasadena, Cali., has turned heads with a tremendous 1.84 GAA and .933sv% to begin his Junior career.

The North Stars will need their offensive attack at its most-opportunistic once again tonight if the squad hopes to find success against this Hawks club that doesn’t give up a lot of Grade A scoring chances.

MacGregor Sinclair leads the Stars into action tonight with 35 points through his first 32 games. Sinclair is coming off a performance that iced the victory for his team Tuesday night against the Hawks, providing the Battlefords with their insurance marker in securing the 2-0 win.

Sinclair will be joined on the team’s top line by veteran Braydon Buziak and young gun Brett Gammer for the third-straight game, offering a trio of puck possession hounds who drive the play and each hold the ability to make plays at high speed.

Ryan Gil, who opened the scoring Tuesday with a marker that also proved to be the game winner, will line up to the left of the speedy Matthias Urbanski on line two. Twenty-year-old Dayton Heino who has proven to be a handful for the opposition physically completes the unit with a solid net drive.

Owen Lamb leads the North Stars in goals with 16 and will remain the centreman for line three, flanked by Austin Becker and Elijah Loon-Stewardson, two of the club’s premier set-up men on his wings.

Unit four is where the team sees its lone lineup change up front from Tuesday, with Dylan Esau returning to action as fourth-line centre joined by Quintin Loon-Stewardson on his left and Regan Doig on his right.

The team’s blueline, which has been very stingy as of late, allowing just three goals against over the team’s last three games, will look much the same again tonight with Cody Spagrud and Tanner Scott manning the top tandem.

Spagrud, who set up Gil for the game-winner in his last game, has collected 24 points through his opening 33 contests and sits tied for fourth amongst defensemen in scoring through the first half-season-plus.

Matthew Fletcher and Seth Summers cement the top four on the backend, with Fletcher’s hockey IQ and defensive play reading ability complimented perfectly by the pure skating talent and physicality brought along by Summers.

Noah Form has proven extremely fluent in his ability to shift from the left-hand side to the right to play alongside Austin Shumanski on pair three. Form’s presence alongside the tower of strength, Shumanski brings added agility and mobility to complement the Hafford, Sask., product’s brute force and belligerence towards opposition forwards.

Goaltender Joel Grzybowski, who picked up his second shutout of the season Dec. 11 when the teams last met will get the night off this evening in favour of Chad Duran.

Duran has been spectacular in his own right since joining the Stars, allowing just four goals against over his first two starts with the silver and black, posting a combined .913sv% over the span.

You can catch all of tonight’s action at the Civic Centre and on 1050 CJNB, with pregame at 3:45 p.m. and puck drop at 4 p.m.

North Stars lineup at a glance

Forwards:

B. Buziak, M. Sinclair, B. Gammer

R. Gil, M. Urbanski, D. Heino

A. Becker, O. Lamb, E. Loon-Stewardson

Q. Loon-Stewardson, D. Esau, R. Doig

Defensemen:

T. Scott, C. Spagrud

S. Summers, M. Fletcher

A. Shumanski, N. Form

Goaltenders:

C. Duran

J. Grzybowski

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1