Stars' captain Cody Spagrud was a force to be reckoned with in Game 1 against Flin Flon, logging huge minutes and setting the tone for the series with his physical play. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Seeing Stars

Stars look for repeat performance against Bombers in Game 2

Mar 16, 2019 | 3:53 PM

Coming off a 3-0 victory in Game 1 of the series Friday, the Battlefords North Stars will return to action tonight at the NB Civic Centre for Game 2 of their best-of-seven quarterfinal matchup with the Flin Flon Bombers.

Storylines were aflush in Game 1 of the Stars’ and Bombers’ first-round playoff series Friday, as the Battlefords relied on air tight goaltending, leadership by their captain, and contributions from their young players once again to come through to put the team over the top. These common themes will no doubt need to remain prevalent through game two tonight for the Stars to find success once again.

Rookies Kaden Boser and Quintin Loon-Stewardson scored two of the Stars’ three goals on the night, while sophomore, Elijah Loon-Stewardson scored the other.

Stars’ captain Cody Spagrud was all over the ice in Game 1, barely taking a shift off it seemed.

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The defender from Gull Lake, Sask., who was named SJHL Top Defenseman this year, showed exactly why he received the honour, as the Battlefords’ blue liner shut down Flin Flon’s top offensive weapons all night long.

Stars’ assistant coach, Rob Holoien said that the way Spagrud plays sets the tone for the team night-in and night-out.

“All year he’s been a horse,” Holoien said. “He doesn’t get enough credit on a night-to-night basis, we should be talking about him more. It’s amazing how reliable he is and how heavy a game he plays.”

Spagrud’s shining moments on the night included a couple of big hits on prominent Bombers’ players to set the tone for the series.

First came the hit on Bombers’ forward Brandson Hein, who finished the year second in league goals, with 43.

Coming midway through the second period with the Stars ahead by two, Spagrud showed elite closing speed and strength to break up a Brandson Hein shorthanded chance.

Picking up the puck with a head of steam, the 6’2 winger attempted to power his way in on goal driving wide on Spagrud, before then getting bodied off and thrown down to the ice by the defenseman, ultimately tumbling into the end boards.

The second highlight-reel play came on a Flin Flon offensive surge late in the third that saw Calvin Boots, who was a finalist for Top Defenseman this season, pick up the puck along the side boards with his back to the play and his head down.

Spagrud, in his usual no-nonsense approach, once again laid hard into his man, crunching Boots along the side boards, on a hit that had Flin Flon’s all-star defender wincing on his way back to the bench.

The physicality shown by the Battlefords in Game 1 is something the team will look to try and continue to oppose on their opposition heading into Game 2 tonight, and throughout the series at large.

Between the pipes, Joel Grzybowski should be feeling nothing but confident, if not unbeatable heading into this evening, after stopping all 37 shots he faced in Game 1 to earn his first career postseason shutout in the SJHL.

Grzybowski, who lead all goalies this year in starts (44) and played a staggering 207 more minutes over the course of the season than the next closest netminder, looked cool, calm and focused all night long.

Holoien said he believes the team’s 10 days’ rest between the end of the regular season and start of the playoffs was nice, more than anything, to give the goalie some time to rest.

“Grzy[bowski] in there tonight was special,” Holoien said after Friday’s game. “he got some rest in those 10 days off, and was the best player here tonight, for sure.”

Bombers’ goalie Gabriel Waked gave up three goals on 27 shots in Game 1, and will no-doubt be looking to improve on his .889 save percentage posted last game.

Fans can catch tonight’s game at the NB Civic Centre and on 1050 CJNB beginning with the Ultra Print Pregame Show at 7 p.m. Puck drop will follow at 7:30 p.m. on the NAPA North Stars Hockey Broadcast.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1