North Stars teammates gather around to celebrate Tuesday night's win with goaltender Justen Maric, who stopped 38/40 to backstop the team to victory. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

All hands on deck

Seven North Stars chip in goals in 7-2 win over Estevan

Oct 26, 2022 | 12:41 AM

The Battlefords North Stars received seven goals from seven different players, along with a 38-save performance from goalie Justen Maric, on their way a 7-2 win over the Estevan Bruins Tuesday night in North Battleford.

Riley Girod, Jake Southgate, Zane Florence, Brad Blake, Kian Bell, Evan Waldie, and Tanner Gold each chipped in with a goal apiece in the victory, to extend the Stars league-leading record to 14-0-1 this season.

After Estevan’s Cody Davis opened the scoring just seven minutes into the first, Girod’s second of the season and Southgate’s sixth, came less than 20 seconds apart for the Stars to flip the lead entirely at 2-1 Battlefords less than five minutes later.

Girod’s goal came off a strong 200-foot play that began with an outlet pass from Gold to elude a pair of Bruins’ forecheckers and clear the zone on an outlet pass to Marshall Light in-stride. Light then chipped the puck into the right corner of the offensive zone, chased it down, and fed Girod in a quiet area in front for a bang-bang 1-1 tally.

Off the ensuing faceoff at centre – before the goal had even been announced – Doell then stripped the puck away to race down the left wing on a 2-on-1 with his favorite runningmate, Southgate.

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With a full head of steam, and seeing the captain’s eyes as wide as saucers, Doell then dished a perfect pass over the defender’s stick and right into the wheelhouse for Southgate to wire home on the one-timer. Just like that, 2-1 Stars.

Florence stretched the lead to 3-1 to end the first, scoring a power play goal on the defection of a Tynan Ewart shot from the point, to add an insurance marker heading into the first intermission.

Blake then scored to make it 4-1 just two minutes into the second period, wristing one home from the slot, off a set-up by linemates Evan Waldie and Steven Kesslering, for his first of the season to go with a half-dozen assists.

Bell’s 10^th of the campaign was the Stars’ second power play goal of the night, coming on a sharp-angle short-side snipe from the left of the net set up by Doell and Southgate, to give each of the pair another multi-point game, and make it 5-1.

Estevan captain, Kade Runke answered with his 11^th on a power play late in the second to make it a 5-2 game, though that is as close as the Bruins would come.

Waldie scored his second of the season just past the 10-minute mark of the third on a deke-move in alone on the goalie from the hashmarks-in, sprung on a pass from Steven Kesslering for his second assist of the night.

Tanner Gold’s second followed during 4-on-4 play on a shot from the blue line through traffic, set up by Girod and Blake, to give each of the three their second point of the night.

Despite the win, the Stars did suffer a setback as standout first-year forward, Jackson Allan left the game with a lower body injury midway through the first and did not return. Allen was on the receiving end of a knee-on-knee collision that earned Bruins’ forward Logan Walker a 5-minute major penalty and game misconduct.

With the victory, the North Stars are now 14-0-1 this season, heading into their best test yet this weekend, with a home-and-home versus the second-place Humboldt Broncos, Friday and Saturday night.

Friday’s game will mark the eighth and final chapter of the Stars’ eight-game homestand this month, before the team heads back on the road for the first time since Oct. 4 Saturday, for the back-half of the home-and-home.

Friday’s game will be available on 1050 CJNB. The Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin at 7 p.m., with puck drop at 7:30 p.m.

Scoring summary

First period:

6:57 EST Cody Davis (6) ASST: Robbie Stewart (6), Owen Barrow (5) 1-0 Bruins

11:37 BAT Riley Girod (2) ASST: Marshall Light (1) 1-1 tie

11:56 BAT Jake Southgate (6) ASST: Holden Doell (10) 2-1 Stars

18:55 BAT Zane Florence (2) ASST: Tynan Ewart (14) (PP) 3-1 Stars

Second period:

2:06 BAT Bradley Blake (1) ASST: Evan Waldie (6), Steven Kesslering (7) 4-1 Stars

7:08 BAT Kian Bell (10) ASST: Holden Doell (11), Jake Southgate (16) (PP) 5-1 Stars

13:20 EST Kade Runke (11) ASST: Owen Miley (6) (PP) 5-2 Stars

Third period:

10:57 BAT Evan Waldie (2) ASST: Steven Kesslering (8) 6-2 Stars

12:29 BAT Tanner Gold (2) ASST: Riley Girod (3), Bradley Blake (7) 7-2 Stars

7-2 North Stars, the final

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1