Stars blank Bombers 3-0 in series opener

The Stars scored a single goal in each period of play, and goaltender Joel Grzybowski stopped all 37 shots he faced on the evening to pick up the first postseason shutout of his SJHL career.

After an even shot count through the first period, with each team firing eight pucks on goal, Grzybowski came up especially large as the game went on, stopping 17 shots in the middle period alone, before an additional 12 in the third to finish the night a perfect 37/37.

After it looked like the first period would come to a scoreless tie, North Stars’ forward Kaden Boser broke the goose egg, making it 1-0 for the home-side with just 48.8 seconds to go in the opening frame.

As a rookie in the league this season, the tally marked Boser’s first career SJHL postseason goal, and was assisted by veterans, Dayton Heino and Austin Shumanski.

In the second, Elijah Loon-Stewardson made it 2-0 Stars on a shot from in tight, coming just under six minutes into the middle frame, and just seconds after the Stars’ second power play of the night had expired.

Picking up the helpers on Loon-Stewardson’s goal were defenseman Matthew Fletcher, and Elijah’s brother, forward Quintin Loon-Stewardson.

Although the Bombers would fail to find pay dirt in the middle frame, it was certainly the team’s best period of the night, with Flin Flon forward Donavan Houle-Villeneuve coming up with perhaps his team’s best chance of the contest midway through the frame.

Taking the puck wide on a Battlefords’ defender, Houle-Villeneuve then proceeded to chip the puck over the second Stars’ rearguard, who was sliding in front of the goalmouth. Picking up the puck again off the deke to the middle of the ice, the Montreal, PQ product then fired a shot from the mid-slot area, only to be denied by the Stars’ goalie.

Not only making the save, but ensuring there was no rebound left up for grabs, Grzybowski halted play, thus putting an end to Flin Flon’s seemingly promising rush chance.

In the third, the Battlefords’ faithful were again given a reminder to hurry back following the intermission, as the team potted another early goal, as Quintin Loon-Stewardson made it 3-0 Stars.

For Quintin, the goal served as his first playoff marker as a rookie in the league.

The North Stars return to action Saturday night for Game 2 of the series at the Civic Centre. The Ultra Print Pregame Show starts at 7 p.m. and puck drop at 7:30 p.m. can be heard on the NAPA North Stars hockey broadcast.

In other league action, Humboldt beat Estevan 4-1, Melfort defeated Kindersley 2-1, and Nipawin shut out Yorkton 3-0.

Scoring summary

First period:

9:11 BAT Kaden Boser (1) ASST: Dayton Heino (1), Austin Shumanski (1)