Stars’ forward, Quintin Loon-Stewardson played the hero for the North Stars Saturday night, picking up the overtime game-winner against the Yorkton Terriers. The sophomore enters play riding a three-game point streak, that has seen Loon-Stewardson pick up three goals, six points in the process. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Running with the horses

North Stars welcome Broncos to town in search of 13th straight win

Nov 5, 2019 | 2:00 PM

The Battlefords North Stars will welcome the division-rival, Humboldt Broncos to town Tuesday night for the first matchup of the season-series between the two teams.

The North Stars enter play the winners of 12-straight, sitting in top spot of the Global Ag. Risk Solutions Division and first overall in the league standings, at 19-1 on the season.

Humboldt sit second in the division, carrying an 11-7-2 record into play.

If recent history between the two sides is any indication, Tuesday night’s game could very likely go the distance. Nine of the twelve head-to-head games between the Stars and Broncos over the last two years have been decided by just a single goal, with eight of those extending beyond regulation time.

The North Stars and Broncos have scored 92 and 70 goals respectively this season, and sit first and fourth overall in offensive production in the SJHL through the opening third of the campaign.

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The Stars are led into play by recently-anointed Defenceman of the Month, Matthew Fletcher, who sits seventh in league scoring with 25 points through 20 games this year.

Forwards Quintin Loon-Stewardson (24 points), Rylan Nivon (24 points), Austin Becker (23) and Elijah Loon-Stewardson (19) are each also point-per-game or better for the Battlefords on the year as well, heading into action.

The Broncos, while perhaps not boasting the same point-per-game totals amongst their top offensive weapons, have also seen a number of players chip in to contribute on their side of things.

Twenty-year-old, Logan Foster leads the team with 25 points, while Tristan Shewchuk (20 points), Karter Mcnarland (16 points), Bryson Cecconi (15) and Zach McIntyre (13) round out the top five on the visitors’ side.

A key piece of the Broncos’ attack has been the power play, where the team sits second, clicking along at nearly 20 percent for the season. The Stars, by contrast, sit tenth, at just over 14 percent.

On the flip side however, the Battlefords do lay claim to a premier penalty kill. The team has chalked up a nearly 87 percent efficiency rate when short a man to Humboldt’s 80 percent billing.

In the crease, Stars’ goaltender Parker Rey will get the call for the home side. Proving himself amongst the brightest young goalies to debut this season, Rey enters play on the evening with a 5-1 record, to go along with a sparkling 1.88 goals-against average and .930 save percentage.

At the other end, the Broncos are likely to hand the reigns to fellow rookie netminder, Brendan Forman. Through the opening month, Forman has made 13 appearances, posting nine wins along with a 2.91 goals-against average, and .905 save percentage.

Tuesday night’s game will be broadcast on 1050 CJNB. The Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin at 7:15 p.m. with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. on NAPA North Stars Hockey.

North Stars lineup

Forwards:

R. Nivon, Q. Loon-Stewardson, E. Loon-Stewardson

A. Becker, B. Gammer, M. Urbanski

K. Boser, S. Kesslering, D. Esau

L. Spence, D. Prymak, H. Partsch

Defencemen:

N. Form, D. McCabe

S. Summers, M. Fletcher

J. Gagnon, W. Somers

Goaltenders:

P. Rey

A. Dmyterko

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1