Having a strong offence is always a good thing.
A well spread-out goal scoring attack can help make you one of the best teams in your league.
That proved to be the key to the Battlefords North Stars' success Tuesday night at the Civic Centre, as 14 different players got on the score sheet in their 8-2 win over the Kindersley Klippers.
鈥淲e were very balanced tonight through all four lines and with all six defencemen,鈥� North Stars general manager and head coach Nate Bedford said.
鈥淓veryone takes a lot of pride in being out on the ice and no one wants to be in a fourth line situation. If the guys work hard and keep playing the right way, they won鈥檛 be in that role.鈥�
The balanced attack was similar to what took place two weeks ago in Estevan, where the North Stars cruised to a dominant 10-3 triumph over the host Bruins.
鈥淲e鈥檙e pretty confident right now with every line,鈥� said forward Connor Logan, who had a pair of goals and an assist in Tuesday鈥檚 win. 鈥淲e鈥檝e also had a good forecheck and that鈥檚 what worked for us tonight.
鈥淥ur chemistry has really started to build over the last couple of weeks. We have a lot of skilled guys in our lineup and that makes it a lot of fun at practice as we all work together to become a good team.鈥�
Blueliner Conor Jensen matched Logan鈥檚 offensive output Tuesday as he dished out three helpers, which is the most points he鈥檚 had a single Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League game.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty easy when you have wide-open teammates to pass the puck to,鈥� Jensen said.
鈥淚鈥檝e been gaining more confidence in each game and I鈥檓 starting to get up into the rush a little bit more. All of the defencemen on this team are very skilled and we鈥檙e all looking at being more involved in the offence.鈥�
Layne Young found the back of the net twice on the power play, which moved him into a tie for the SJHL lead in goals with Estevan鈥檚 Kaelan Holt and Humboldt鈥檚 Chris Van Os-Shaw with 12 each.
Cody Spagrud, Troy Gerein, Bryce Hall and Brett Horn also scored for the North Stars, while Ben Allen and McGregor Sinclair each had a pair of assists.
Joel Grzybowski made 16 saves to improve to 6-1-0-0 for the season.
The Klippers, who are in fourth place in the SJHL鈥檚 Finning Division with a 6-9-0-0 mark, got their goals from Kyle Bosch and Branden Wagner.
鈥淭hat was the worst night we鈥檝e had since I鈥檝e been a part of this organization,鈥� Klippers general manager and head coach Geoff Grimwood said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not at Battlefords' level right now, but an 8-2 loss is not our level either. There鈥檚 no easy answer here and we鈥檙e all going to have to take a good look in the mirror to see what鈥檚 going on.鈥�
The North Stars, who now have a 12-5-0-0 record, have won their last four games and remain three points back of the Humboldt Broncos for first place in the Finning Division.
Erik Gardiner completed a hat-trick with an overtime goal Tuesday to give the Broncos a 6-5 overtime win over the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox, and helped maintain his team鈥檚 three-point cushion.
Next up for the North Stars will be a pair of home games this weekend, as they will host the Yorkton Terriers Friday and entertain the Notre Dame Hounds Saturday.
鈥淵orkton works hard and they are a quick team,鈥� Bedford said. 鈥淥ur biggest key against them will be to limit their odd-man rushes and we will need to outwork them from start to finish.
鈥淣otre Dame is capable of scoring at any time so we鈥檒l have to key in on their top guys and be quick in our transitional play. If they are chasing us around, we鈥檒l be in good shape.鈥�
Both games will get underway at 7:30 p.m.聽
