North Stars welcome Hawks to town in search of sixth straight

When the Battlefords North Stars play host to the Nipawin Hawks Wednesday night at the NB Civic Centre, the team will do so looking for their sixth straight win.

The North Stars enter play in top spot of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) standings having posted a 32-6-2 record, good for 66 points, through their opening 40 games.

At the other end, Nipawin are 20-17-2 on the year. With 42 points, the team has won a couple of games in a row, looking to get on a streak of their own.

Wednesday’s matchup could see a defensive showdown, as the Stars and Hawks rank second and third in goals-against this season. The two sides have allowed just 102 and 114 goals-against respectively, thus far this year.

That being said, both the Stars and Hawks have also been rolling offensively of late, heading into play.

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The North Stars have scored 27 goals total over their current five-game winning streak, while the Hawks have scored 10 goals over their last two games and 12 in three games since the New Year.

Leading the Hawks’ offence over the stretch has been their captain, Jake Tremblay. The third-year forward from Pence, Sask., will carry a six-game point streak into play Wed. and has picked up four goals over his last three games overall. Tremblay also leads Nipawin in scoring this season with 15 goals, 35 points on the campaign.

For the Stars, Rylan Nivon has also been especially hot as of late. The veteran has collected seven points over his last three games, thanks to three consecutive multi-point performances. Nivon sits first on the Battlefords and sixth overall in league scoring, with 46 points on the year.

Parker Rey will get the start for the North Stars in goal Wednesday. Rey has posted a 9-2 record this year, to go along with a sparkling 2.32 goals-against average and .919 save percentage.

At the other end, Nipawin are likely to hand the reigns again to Ross Hawryluk. Hawryluk has started two of the Hawks’ last three games, while coming on for a win in relief in the other. This season Hawryluk has posted a 10-5 record, along with a 2.31 goals-against average and .926 save percentage.

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

North Stars lineup

Forwards:

A. Becker, Q. Loon-Stewardson, R. Nivon

E. Loon-Stewardson, M. Urbanski, J. Steele

D. Esau, B. Hiltz, S. Kesslering

L. Spence, K. Boser, H. Partsch

Defencemen:

S. Summers, M. Fletcher

N. Form, D. McCabe

L. Antoniuk, T. Prexler

Goaltenders:

P. Rey

A. Schwab

—

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1