After a slow start in their most recent home win over the La Ronge Ice Wolves Tuesday, the Battlefords North Stars were eager to make amends at the Civic Centre Saturday night.
The top team in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League scored three goals in the first period and never looked back as they cruised to a 6-1 win over the Melville Millionaires.
鈥淭he biggest thing that we were looking for in this game was to play well offensively,鈥� North Stars forward Ben Allen said.
鈥淲e got that early lead and put them back on their heels, which gave us a bit of an advantage. We had more time to make plays against them and it made things easier for us.鈥�
Allen helped to get things started for the North Stars as he made a great feed to Reed Delainey just 75 seconds into the game.
Jared Blaquiere would then tip in a point shot from Cody Spagrud 23 seconds later to double up the home team鈥檚 lead, while Keaton Holinaty redirected a shot from Connor Logan late in the opening frame to compete the three-goal start.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had some trouble scoring goals as of late so we were feeling a little snake bitten,鈥� Delainey said.
鈥淲e got rolling right off the start and we almost played a full 60-minutes. We had a couple of lapses and there鈥檚 some things we cane improve on defensively, but we did a great job of moving out feet out there and that was a huge key to our win.鈥�
Allen and Delaney each had a goal and an assist to lead the way on offence, while Layne Young and Connor Manegre also scored.
Taryn Kotchorek got the start once again for the North Stars, as Joel Grzybowski was called up by the WHL鈥檚 Saskatoon Blades to serve as a backup for a second straight night, and made 19 saves to earn his 21st win of the season.
His only blemish came in the third period as Damien Bentz scored for the Millionaires, who have lost their last three games and are four points back of the Notre Dame Hounds for the 10th and final playoff spot in the SJHL.
鈥淲hen you spot the best team in the league two goals on the first three shifts, it becomes a real challenging night,鈥� Millionaires head coach and general manager Devin Windle said.
The one highlight for the Millionaires, who have a 17-24-2-0 record, was the performance of netminder Brett Friesen as turned aside 45 shots in his first game with the team.
鈥淲e kind of threw him to the wolves a little bit,鈥� Windle said of Friesen, who played 11 games for the Humboldt Broncos last year before joining the MJHL鈥檚 Selkirk Steelers.
鈥淐olby (Entz) has been carrying the load for us here lately but Brett鈥檚 been working hard to get his shot. He made some great saves for us and we expect him to build off of that going forward.鈥�
Next up for the North Stars, who have won four straight games and now have a 37-7-1-0 record, is a big road game against the Nipawin Hawks at 6 p.m. Sunday.
The Hawks are the hottest team in the SJHL at the moment, as they have won their last seven games.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been quite awhile since we played them and I know that both rosters are pretty different now,鈥� Delainey said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going in blind a little bit but we play to work hard and do what we always do.鈥�
The North Stars won their last meeting with the Hawks by a score of 4-2 on Nov. 15, 2016 at the Civic Centre.
