The Battlefords North Stars claimed their second league-title in three years Friday, doing so on home ice, with just four players remaining from the organization’s 2017 win. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

A dream fulfilled

Stars claim Canalta Cup with Game 5 win

Apr 20, 2019 | 3:15 AM

The Battlefords North Stars are SJHL League Champions, clinching the Canalta Cup on home ice with a 7-2 victory at the Civic Centre in front of the hometown crowd.

North Stars’ teammates converged on team captain, Cody Spagrud after the captain received the Canalta Cup from SJHL President Bill Chow following the Battlefords’ 7-2 win in Game 5. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Taking their Finals’ series by a four-games-to-one count, Game 5 Friday, saw the team’s leaders take the reins and deliver the Stars to victory.

Braydon Buziak, Quintin Loon-Stewardson and MacGregor Sinclair each provided two-goal performances Friday, while Austin Shumanski also cashed in for his second of the playoffs.

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Stars’ forwards Owen Lamb (left) and MacGregor Sinclair (right) were two of eight Stars’ veterans to close out their Junior hockey careers this season with a Canalta Cup win. The pair finished first (Sinclair) and second (Lamb) in team scoring this season. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Stars’ captain, Cody Spagrud had a game-high four assists on the night, while Elijah Loon-Stewardson contributed two of his own, and Logan Spence, in just his second playoff game, also picked up a primary helper.

Joel Grzybowski, who was named playoff MVP, stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced in the Cup-clinching win.

Grzybowski’s league-leading 1.68 goals-against average, and .950 save percentage, were not only tops in the league this postseason, but also served as the best numbers a championship netminder has posted in over a decade, likely longer.

The Hafford product’s run to this, his second league-championship, was highlighted by a 241-minute-plus shutout bid, spanning from late in the third period of Game 1 against Yorkton in the semifinals, to part-way through the third period of Game 1 against Melfort in the league Final.

At still just 19-years-old, Grzybowski still holds another year of Junior eligibility, a scary concept for the rest of the league.

Stars’ goalie Joel Grzybowski, pictured here shaking hands with Mustangs’ defenseman Gabe Odowichuk, was lights-out for the North Stars, leading the team to 12 wins, and four shutout victories, while earning ‘First Star’ honours more times than not on the Battlefords’ 16-game journey to the SJHL championship. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

The Stars’ victory Friday serves as the ultimate exclamation mark on a season that many saw as a rebuilding year, heading into training camp.

With 12 rookies on their 25-man roster, and 17 players total from this year’s team eligible to return next season, the Battlefords’ success this year looks to be just the beginning of what this team can accomplish moving forward.

Overcoming all kinds of adversity on their road to the championship, the team remained calm and poised throughout their playoff run, dealing with hurtles as they came, with an undeniable confidence the team would prevail despite the obstacle.

Likely the greatest example of this unflappable mentality regardless of circumstance, came in the opening round against the Flin Flon Bombers, when, after nearly squandering a 3-0 series lead, the Stars rebounded in Game 7 to win handedly in the series-deciding game.

The Stars’ sweep of Yorkton in Round 2, and following five-game close-out of Melfort Friday, in front of the hometown crowd, proved the team had learned from their experience, as the group band together to deliver the killer instinct needed, en route to being named league champions for the 2018-19 season.

No better feeling: Eighteen different North Stars chipped in with at least a single goal through the team’s 16 playoff games, as it truly was an all-hands-on-deck effort by the black and silver to win the championship. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

The North Stars will now await the outcome of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) Final to determine their opposition in the Anavet Cup. The Portage Terriers and Swan Valley Stampeders will play Game 7 of their Finals’ series Monday night in Portage.

Worth the wait: The North Stars’ 58-game regular-season grind, and additional 16 games of hard-hitting playoff action was all made worth it when the final horn sound on Game 5, immortalizing the team as Canalta Cup Champions. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Scoring summary for Game 5

First period:

5:43 MLF Justin Ball (8) ASST: None

10:44 BAT Braydon Buziak (7) ASST: Owen Lamb (10), Cody Spagrud (6) (PP)

14:39 BAT Quintin Loon-Stewardson (9) ASST: Elijah Loon-Stewardson (7), Cody Spagrud (7)

15:17 BAT Braydon Buziak (8) ASST: Cody Spagrud (8)

Second period:

0:50 BAT MacGregor Sinclair (4) ASST: None

6:31 MLF Tanner Zentner (5) ASST: Kayle Tosh (11), Justin Ball (15) (PP)

18:36 BAT Quintin Loon-Stewardson (10) ASST: Braydon Buziak (11), Cody Spagrud (9)

Third period:

2:04 BAT Austin Shumanski (2) ASST: Quintin Loon-Stewardson (9), Elijah Loon-Stewardson (8) (PP)

15:51 BAT MacGregor Sinclair (5) ASST: Logan Spence (1) (EN)

7-2 North Stars, the Final.

A collective effort: Family, friends, and fans alike, flooded the ice surface following the Stars’ Cup win, as the players shared their shining moment with those who helped and supported them along the way. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Joining the celebration was a special guest, as Stars’ forward Regan Doig brought his pooch to join in the festivities. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1