By Nathan Kanter

North Stars effort not great in 3-0 win over Melfort

Feb 10, 2017 | 9:59 PM

The Battlefords North Stars won their fourth straight game on Friday night, a 3-0 score over the Melfort Mustangs.

It was their 41st win of the season.

Much of the game was played on special teams, although neither side could capitalize, as the North Stars power play went 0-for-5 and the Mustangs power play went 0-for-8.

Ryan Rosenberg’s first period goal – a bullet to the top corner blocker side – held up as the game-winner with Keaton Holinaty also scoring in the first and Owen Lamb adding an empty netter.

Effort Not Good enough

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“I don’t think it was our best effort,” North Stars head coach Nate Bedford said after the game. “I thought between the blues we were fairly weak. I dont think we generated any speed coming through the neutral zone, which we normally do. I think we turned way too many pucks over in ahrd areas, which usually means we’re not willing to sacrifice. I don’t think it was our best game for sure.”

Bedford said it’s because the team needs to do a better job of supporting the puck.

“Our puck is at the far side boards and both winger and centre are on the other side, hoping to get an east-west pass that has to go through two or three defenders,” Bedford explained. “We did that all night, where we thought that we were going to thread pucks through and we only have a few guys that can do that. It’s tough to do that at full speed. I just thought it was one of those where we should have done a better job of makin git easier on ourselves by supporting the puck and making five, 10-foot passes as opposed to 30.”

North Stars Limited Mustangs’ Chances

Melfort finished with just 23 shots on goaltender Taryn Kotchorek, who picked up his fourth shutout of the season. That equals his total from last season.

His night was made much easier by the North Stars defence.

“I thought we did a good job of keeping them to the outside for the most part,” Bedford said. “A lot of their shots came on the power play, as they should.”

Kotchorek also did a great job of controlling the game and limiting second chances.

“His rebound control was good, he controlled the game and that’s what you need,” Bedford said. “I really felt confident that if they were able to score there, that they weren’t going to get two and when a guy is in control like that, it’s fun to be around. That’s probably the part of the game he’s improved upon the most since day one when I got here.”

Kotchorek is now 23-3 this season with a 1.75 goals-against-average and a .930 save percentage.

Melfort Penalty Kill Causes Headaches

The North Stars power play came in to the game operating at a 6-for-13 mark over the past three games but it went 0-for-5 on Friday.

Bedford credited the Mustangs penalty kill for the North Stars struggles on the man advantage.

“Their PK I thought was relentless,” Bedford said. “They were forcing us all over the ice and not letting us make pretty plays and smart. I think we like to make pretty plays far too often.

“I thought their penalty kill was just that good tonight. Nothing against our power play. I thought we moved the puck well.”

Hawks in Town Saturday for Marquee Matchup

The Nipawin Hawks visit the Civic Centre on Saturday as winners of 13 straight games.

They beat Kindersley on Friday night 4-3 wtih backup goaltender Declan Hobbs manning the pipes. He stopped 35 of 38 shots in the win.

The last time the North Stars and Hawks faced off, it was the Hawks winning 2-0 at home to end Battlefords’ six-game winning streak.

“We anticipate a much better effort from our guys,” Bedford said. “I think they’re going to come in with a ton of confidence and [head coach] Doug [Johnson] is going to have a real good game plan on their side.

“I think it’s going to be a tough two games againt these guys for sure. Us being in first place, we’ve got to concentrate on winning our home games and if we were to play them in the playoffs and we win our home games, we win the series. So really important game for us. [There is] probably more pressure on us tomorrow, just with it being a home game and us being in first place and them chasing.”

Puck drop for Saturday is set for 7:30 p.m. with the Ultra Print pre-game on CJNB/CJNS set for 7:15 p.m.