After a bit of a slow start, the Battlefords North Stars kicked things into high gear Friday night in Kindersley.
Thanks to three goals each in the second and third periods, the North Stars improved to 9-0 against their archrivals this season as they picked up a 6-0 victory in their final road game of the 2016-17 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League regular season.
鈥淜indersley came out as hard as they could, as this was a very important game for them, and we were able to weather the storm to find a way to remain calm and poised in the first period,鈥� North Stars head coach and general manager Nate Bedford said.
鈥淎s the game went on, we got better and better. I thought our power play looked great and all four lines were going.鈥�
The North Stars were led on offence by Coby Downs, as he cracked the 70-point plateau for the second straight season after scoring a goal and setting up two hours.
Troy Gerein and Owen Lamb each had a goal and an assist in the win, while Connor Sych dished out a pair of helpers.
鈥淣o matter who we are playing or what the circumstances are, guys like Troy and Owen are ready to go every single night,鈥� Bedford said. 鈥淚 was really happy with how both guys played in this one.鈥�
Ryan Rosenberg and Connor Logan also found the back of the net in the victory, while affiliated player Blake Fennig scored his first career SJHL goal in his first ever game with his hometown team.
鈥淲hen you work hard and do things the right way as a competitive kid, good things will happen,鈥� Bedford said of Fening, who has split time with the Saskatoon Quakers and the West Central Rage this season.
鈥淚 thought Blake and our other call-up (Logan) Spence (of the Battlefords AAA Stars) were able to learn things pretty quickly and they adapted well throughout the night.鈥�
At the other end of the ice, Joel Grzybowski stopped all 27 shots he faced to earn the sixth shutout of his rookie campaign, which moved him into a tie for the league lead with SJHL MVP and Goalie of the Year award winner Kristian Stead of the Nipawin Hawks.
鈥淭here were somewhere around 10 quality scoring chances that they had so it wasn鈥檛 like it was a pedestrian outing for Joel,鈥� Bedford said. 鈥淚 thought he did a great job right from the start tonight.鈥�
Justen Close made 31 saves in the loss for the Klippers, who have officially clinched ninth spot in the SJHL standings.
That result, coupled with a 3-2 loss for the Weyburn Red Wings to the Estevan Bruins Friday, sets up a best-of-five first round matchup between the Red Wings and the Klippers next week.
The North Stars, who have already wrapped home ice advantage through the SJHL playoffs, will conclude their regular season schedule Saturday night against the Klippers in a 7:30 p.m. battle at the Civic Centre.
Both Fening and Spence are expected to be in the lineup again for the North Stars, along with another call-up in Saskatoon Contacts blueliner Austin Wieler.
