Saturday night featured a strong, gritty performance from both sides, in what featured a pair of the league's hottest teams heading into play. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Saturday night hockey

Stars battle Ice Wolves down to wire in 4-2 defeat

Feb 6, 2022 | 12:13 AM

It was a hard-fought game between a pair of surging teams Saturday night in North Battleford, as the North Stars saw their four-game winning streak come to an end, in a 4-2 loss to La Ronge.

Stars forward, Zane Florence scored his 13^th of the year – and third in his last three games – to open the scoring just minutes into the contest. Depositing a Ty Bahm rebound in-front to make it 1-0 early, the goal came off strong pressure from the fourth line.

Stars’ forward, Ty Bahm set up the Stars opening goal by Florence, and was all around the ice all night, as a force on the forecheck. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Gavin Mattey pulled La Ronge even with his team-leading 23rd of the year just over five minutes later, scoring by bunting his own rebound out of the air on a tremendous show of hand-eye coordination to make it 1-1.

Jake Southgate added his team-leading 19^th to re-establish the Stars’ lead late in the frame, on a laser beam wrister from the left circle off a pass from Holden Doell.

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With some big hits dished out from the onset, tensions boiled over late in the first, as Stars’ forward, Emmett Wurst (6’2, 180 lbs) dropped the gloves with La Ronge’s Conrad Mitchell (6’5, 230), holding his own despite giving up three inches and about 50 pounds to his opponent.

A 2-1 Battlefords lead after the first, Tye Evans pulled the Ice Wolves even in the second with his fifth, to make it 2-2, before the Ice Wolves added two more unanswered in the third to take home the victory.

First defenceman, Nate Looft notched his seventh of the year on a one-time blast off the crossbar-and-in on a La Ronge power play, before captain Holden Knights gave his team an added insurance marker in the final two minutes, on the way to their sixth-straight win.

North Stars goalie, Austin Schwab made 29 saves on 33 shots against in the defeat, while Xavier Cannon stopped 27 of 29 for the Wolves in the win.

Despite the loss, the Stars are still 25-11-5 on the season, and remain fifth overall in the league standings, with 55 points. La Ronge improve to 21-19-3, and now sit sixth with 45 points.

The Stars will return to play Tuesday night, when the Yorkton Terriers come to town. The NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Broadcast will be available on 1050 CJNB, with the Ultra Print Pregame Show at 7 p.m., and puck drop at 7:30 p.m.

Scoring summary

First period:

2:35 BAT Zane Florence (13) ASST: Ty Bahm (1), Matthew Henry (10)

8:48 LAR Gaviin Mattey (23) ASST: Connor Abric (7)

16:26 BAT Jake Southgate (19) ASST: Holden Doell (20), Sam Witt (13)

Second period:

5:57 LAR Tye Evans (5) ASST: Aaron Greyeyes (13), Holden Knights (15)

Third period:

13:40 LAR Nate Looft (7) ASST: Brandon Della Paolera (26), Gavin Mattey (16) (PP)

18:11 LAR Holden Knights (7) ASST: Bryan Gilman (14)

4-2 Ice Wolves, the final.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1