North Stars Tynan Ewart and Kian Bell celebrate following Bell's 11th of the season over the weekend versus Humboldt. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

crème de la crème

North Stars remain #1 in country in latest CJHL rankings

Nov 2, 2022 | 8:50 AM

Coming off their toughest challenge yet over the weekend and taking three of a possible four points in their home-and-home with the rival Humboldt Broncos, the Battlefords North Stars remain the top team in Canada in the latest release of the CJHL’s Top-20 Rankings.

The Stars defeated Humboldt 5-2 on home ice Friday night, before falling 3-2 in overtime Saturday in the Broncos’ defence of home-ice, though the team still managed to pick up a single point in the standings.

The Battlefords are now 15-0-1-1 on the year, and remain undefeated in regulation, now in the midst of the better part of a week off, prior to their return to action this weekend for an important three-games in three-nights stretch through southern Saskatchewan coming up this weekend.

More impressive than just the number of wins the team has accumulated however, has been the Stars’ sustained dominance through the early going in virtually every team statistic.

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The North Stars have scored a league-best 87 goals this season through 17 games, for an average over five goals per game (5.12), also a league-high. For context, Humboldt who are second in both categories, have scored 75 goals in 16 games for an average of 4.69 per contest.

Defensively, the Stars have also been the creme of the crop, with just 34 goals allowed through 17 games for an average of 2.00 goals against per game. Flin Flon are second in both categories with 40 goals-against in just 16 games and an average of 2.5 against per outing.

Individually, the team also features a number of players amongst the league’s elite in point production, with three players in the top-five in SJHL scoring.

Captain Jake Southgate leads the team, and sits third overall in the scoring race, with 25 points in 17 games, trailing only Melville’s Zach Cain (27 points in 18 games) and Estevan’s Kade Runke (26 in 20 games).

Just back of Southgate, Holden Doell sits fourth in league points, despite a late start to the regular season, after missing the first four games due to injury. Doell’s 24 points in 13 games also come with a league-best 1.85 points per game amongst players to suit up for at least 10 games this season.

With five multi-point games in his last six, Doell was named the SJHL MVP of the Month, after scoring nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 10 games through October.

Kian Bell sits third in team scoring and fifth overall with 23 points in 13 games, while holding the second-best points per game to Doell amongst players with at least 10 games played (1.64). Bell has four multi-point games in his last five, with five goals, nine points over the span.

Forward Steven Kesslering is the Stars’ fourth player in the top-10 in league scoring with 19 points (10^th) in 15 games, while sitting tied with Bell for the team lead in goals with 11.

On special teams, the Stars rank second overall on the power play, clicking at 25.8 per cent on the man advantage, with a league-high 24 power play goals.

Keiton Klein, who plays on an even strength line separate from Southgate, Doell, Bell, and Kesslering, is tied for the league lead in power play goals with seven in 16 games, while his 10 goals are third on the team and include a league-best five game-winners.

Perhaps the one area the team has not pulled away from the pack has been the penalty kill, where the Battlefords rank fifth overall at 83.3 per cent efficiency. Although even there, the team looks to only be trending stronger, as the Stars have allowed just three power play goals against over their last nine games, having killed off 28 of their last 31 penalties dating back to Oct. 7.

On the blue line, veteran Tynan Ewart leads all defenceman with 17 points in 17 games, and is the lone rearguard to be a regular in his team’s lineup and scoring a point per game. This, while also playing the most minutes on the team each night, facing top competition, and featuring in on the team’s top penalty-killing unit.

Ewart’s defence partner, Jordan Gibbs sits seventh in blue line scoring, leading all first-year defencemen – and sitting third overall amongst all rookies – with 12 points in 15 games.

In goal, Josh Kotai is also a 19-year-old in his first season of SJHL play and has been the benchmark for league goaltending from the first week of the season. In 13 games, Kotai leads the league with 11 wins, while his 1.61 goals against average and .949 save percentage are also the high water mark for all goalies.

In fact, Kotai is the only goaltender to have a sub-2.00 goals-against, with Flin Flon’s Harmon Laser-Hume second, with a 2.06 GAA. La Ronge’s Dawson Smith is second in save percentage amongst all goalies to play at least 10 games, with a .933 save percentage.

The North Stars will return to play this weekend with the first game of their southern swing in Estevan Friday. An earlier start than usual, the Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop at 7 p.m. on the NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Hockey Broadcast on 1050 CJNB.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1