By Nathan Kanter

North Stars set for Vees to kick off WCC

Apr 29, 2017 | 1:00 PM

There are now roughly seven hours until the North Stars take to the ice for their first game of the Western Canada Cup.

The team skated this morning for a little over half an hour and will begin the tournament with an 8 p.m. game (Saskatchewan time) against the British Columbia Hockey League champions and host Penticton Vees.

“They do a lot of things well, obviously being the champions of their league, but for us the main thing is playing hard and winning battles,” North Stars associate coach Braeden Johnson said after the team’s skate on Saturday morning. “Getting the puck deep and winning those battles [is our focus]. We’re really going to stress [that] and I think from there things will take care of themselves.”

North Stars forward Ben Allen said he expects speed but it’s nothing to worry about.

“Just expecting a fast team that likes to play with skill and likes to move the puck fast,” Allen said. “We just honestly play our game and I think we’ll be fine. We like to play physical and not let them have space out there so I think if we just keep our space between them and lay the body and try to pin them a lot, they can’t do anything.”

2023-24 Hardware

AAA Stars celebrate best of season with year-end awards

11h ago

Real Estate

Buying or selling a house? Do your homework first

14h ago

NB council

City approves new land sale on Buhler Bay

15h ago

Former BCHL player Connor Logan, who has played against last year’s Vees team, also knows physicality will be key.

“They’re quick and they’re shifty,” he said. “Just play tough on them and we’ll be good.”

“If youre in anyone’s face and you don’t give them enough time to make plays, it just makes it difficult for them.”

The staple of the North Stars all year long has been solid defence.

What that also means, some of the time, is boring hockey, which captain Kendall Fransoo alluded to, especially for the start.

“Just play our game: glass and out every time for the beginning of the game and bore them down a little bit,” he said. “Basically just do our thing and make teams play our way…Play simple. Keep things simple. Don’t get too run and gun. That’s not our style. If we get run and gun then the crowd is going to get into it.

“Just play smart defensively like we’ve done all year. If they can’t score, they can’t win.”

Here's @SJHL_NorthStars captain @frannyftb on keeping things simple tonight vs. Vees pic.twitter.com/tDT3RMaDXi

— Nathan Kanter (@NathanKanter11) April 29, 2017

Although it’s a bigger stage and the Vees are expected to have thousands of fans in attendance, the North Stars don’t care.

“To us, the crowd doesn’t matter,” Fransoo said. “They don’t do what we do on the ice.”

A quick start could also go a long way, as the North Stars scored the first goal in 11 of 12 playoff games, all of which were wins.

“Every time we’ve [score first], we’ve played good games,” Allen said. “[For a quick start], I think just getting pucks deep and playing the body on them and trying to get as many pucks as you possibly can on net and trying to test their goalie off the bat.”

Four lines will continue to be rolled and the combinations didn’t change in the morning skate.

Allen remained on the right wing with North Stars leading scorers Coby Downs and Layne Young. The ’20-line’ of Connor Logan, Reed Delainey and Jared Blaquiere remained intact, while the other two lines still consist of MacGregor Sinclair with Troy Gerein and Logan Nachtegaele, and Keaton Holinaty remained with Bryce Hall and Owen Lamb.

Both Taryn Kotchorek and Joel Gryzbowski practiced.

All games at the Western Canada Cup will be broadcasted on CJNB/CJNS with a new 30-minute Ultra Print pre-game show.

That means things get started at 7:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time on Saturday night.

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

@NathanKanter11