Last second goal lifts North Stars past Red Wings

In the dying seconds of the game, the North Stars forward threw a puck to the net from just inside the blueline.

Miraculously, the puck hit goaltender Shaun Fleming, went up into the air, and bounced into the net.

Downs celebrated. His teammates joined him. Red Wings coach Wes Rudy got very angry.

It was quite the sight.

“I was just trying to get the puck deep for overtime and I was just throwing everything on net I could,” Downs said after the win. “I turned around, the puck goes in and the ref waves it in. I didn’t know what to do so I just skated to Taryn [Kotchorek].

“I didn’t even know what was going on.”

“You hate to see a good hockey game end like that, but you hate to see it a lot more if it’s not you,” added North Stars head coach Nate Bedford. “I thought we played really well. From yesteday to today I thought it was night and day. I thought we deserved to win.

“We worked harder [than Friday]. We went over some clips this morning of things we didn’t do well of battling and things like that and I thought we won more battles today. We competed. We went right down to the wire with these guys.”

Before the game, the North Stars got the news that Layne Young and MacGregor Sinclair had both been suspended because of plays that hapenned in Friday’s game. Young was given a two minute boarding penalty in the first period that resulted in his suspension while Sinclair was knocked into goaltender Carter Phair in the third, which forced the Weyburn netminder to leave the game. No penalty was given to Sinclair on the play but he was suspended anyways.

Both suspension lengths are currently unknown as the league needs more time to review the plays.

“Sometimes you get guys suspended for taking the puck to the net… and you kind of sometimes worry about ‘what’s next?’ and you kind of take a step back and I don’t think we did,” Bedford said. “We kept pushing and kept being more and more physical and I really liked that about our team. I thought we had good goaltending. I thought our ‘D’ was much better. We were moving the puck a lot better, espeically through the neutral zone and moving the puck with purpose.”

Connor Logan opened the scoring for the North Stars with just over three minutes remaining in the game, breaking a scoreless deadlock.

Defenceman Cody Spagrud should be credited for doing much of the work on that first goal, as he was the one who started the rush and centred the pass for Logan. The goal was Logan’s 16th of the season and 37th point, which has him just outside the top-15 in league scoring. Spagrud, who turned 19 on Friday, got his 15th point of the season with his assist.

The Red Wings wouldn’t go away quietly however.

Connor Sych was given a hooking call with just over two minutes remaining in the game, which gave Weybrun a power play. They didn’t waste their opportunity, as Carson Rose finished off a beautiful pass from Braden Mellon on the 6-on-4 advantage.

But that wouldn’t matter, thanks to Downs lucky bounce.

Perhaps lost in all this was another great performance from Kotchorek in the North Stars crease, who improved his record to 19-2.

“I think he’s just a confident kid,” Bedford said. “Really proud of…how he handled the game tonight. I thought he gave them limited second opportunities with his rebound control.”

The North Stars next game is Saturday, Jan. 21 during Hockey Day in Saskatchewan, when they take on the Notre Dame Hounds in Shellbrook.

CJNB/CJNS will have the game, beginning with the Ultra Print pre-game show at 7:15 p.m.

by Nathan Kanter

Last second goal lifts North Stars past Red Wings

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