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North Stars forward, Emmett Wurst scored Friday night, as one of two goals contributed by the Stars' veteran unit of Wurst, Brad Blake and Evan Waldie. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)
Afternoon puck drop

Stars welcome Bombers to Battleford Arena for game two of weekend series

Nov 19, 2022 | 12:13 PM

Coming off a 5-2 victory over Flin Flon to open the weekend in Wilkie, the Battlefords North Stars will welcome the Bombers to Battleford Arena Saturday afternoon for the teams’ second game in less than 24 hours this weekend.

WIth their win Friday night, the Stars extended their league-leading record to 19-0-2-1, led by a 58-save performance by their goaltender Josh Kotai, along with five goals from five different players.

Flin Flon, who were second overall heading into the weekend, now sit second in their own division and fourth overall with a 14-5-1-1 record, though the team are still tied in points with third-place Humboldt (also 30 points), and just a single back of La Ronge (31) in second.

Among the difference-making lines for the Battlefords Friday was their veteran fourth line, constructed of Emmett Wurst, Brad Blake and Evan Waldie. Both Wurst and Waldie scored for the team in the win at pivitol points in the contest.

The few lineup changes for the Stars will see Owen Underhill check back into the rotation on line three to the left of Colby Bear and Riley Girod; while Easton Rask returns to the lineup on the right-side of Zane Florence on the blue line.

The North Stars lineup versus Flin Flon this afternoon in Battleford. (Twitter/MartyMartyPxP1)

Flin Flon’s offense was largely stimied Friday, though leading point scorer, Jaeden Mercier did score for the team less than 30 seconds into their first power play of the night, serving as a reminder as to the importance of discipline against the league’s top power play of the Bombers.

Between the pipes, Kotai will again get the nod, after his 58 stops a night ago set a personal record this season. Kotai is 14-0-2-1, with a 1.88 goals against average and .945 save percentage.

Flin Flon are likely to go back to Harmon Laser Hume as well. Laser-Hume is 11-4-1-1 with a 2.22 goals against average and .928 save percentage.

Saturday afternoon’s game at Battleford Arena will be available on 1050 CJNB. The Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin at 1:30 p.m., with puck drop at 2 p.m. on the NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Broadcast.

Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1