The Battlefords North Stars and Weyburn Red Wings open their quarter-finals series Friday in North Battleford. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Best-of-seven begins

North Stars host Weyburn for Game 1 of Playoffs

Mar 17, 2023 | 1:52 PM

Game 1 of the playoffs kicks off Friday for the Battlefords North Stars, as the team welcome the Weyburn Red Wings to town to open their first-round best-of-seven series.

Team Outlook

The North Stars are coming off their winningest season in club history with a 48-5-2-1 record to set a new franchise benchmark with 99 points, and enter the playoffs as the #1 seed overall to guarantee home-ice advantage throughout the postseason.

Having played some of their best hockey of late, the Stars closed the regular season on a four-game winning streak, with eight wins in their last 10 overall.

The North Stars will receive a big boost up front, as forward Keiton Klein will make his return to the lineup for opening night of the playoffs, after missing the last game of the regular season with an upper body injury. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

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The Red Wings posted a 26-27-2-1 record this season, on their way to the eighth seed, with 55 points. While just under .500 on the season as a whole, the Wings have been a different team since the new year, having gone 15-9-2-0 with at least a single point in 17 of their 26 games since the turn of the calendar to 2023.

Head coach of the North Stars Brayden Klimosko said he expects lots of energy in the building for Game 1, between two of the better teams down the stretch.

“[Weyburn] definitely have some high-end talent and through the second half they’ve been one of the stronger teams, so it’ll be a really good test for us and obviously everyone’s excited for it,” Klimosko said. “It’s going to test us on both sides of the puck and we’re looking forward to what they bring.”

Players to Watch

There will be no shortage of star power headlining the first-round matchup, as the North Stars and Red Wings combined for six of the top eight scorers in the SJHL this season, and each of the three finalists for league MVP.

Stars’ forward Kian Bell, who was named both MVP and Player of the Year, led all skaters in goals (54) and points (102) this season in 51 games. The left winger on the most lethal line in the league, Bell is joined by centreman Holden Doell, who was a finalist for both MVP and Player of the Year with 100 points (33G, 67 assists) in 49 games, and right winger Jake Southgate who was third in points with 82 (25G, 57A) in 54 games.

Fellow standout right-winger Steven Kesslering also finished fourth in league scoring with 69 points (40G, 29A) in 54 games, as the Stars became the first team in SJHL history to finish with the top four in points at the end of the year.

The Wings counter with another of the league’s elite top lines, featuring the dynamic duo of Ryley Morgan and Ty Mason, who finished fifth and tied for seventh in league points.

Morgan, who was the third finalist for MVP this season with 65 points (25G, 40A) in 54 games, has played his best since joining Weyburn in a trade from La Ronge Nov. 30. In 32 games wearing the winged-wheel, Morgan has scored 16 goals and 41 points.

Mason had 57 points (25G, 32A) in 56 games this season, including 42 (18G, 24A) in 32 games since the Morgan acquisition.

Special teams

With the heavy firepower on both sides, special teams will be of the utmost importance heading into the series. The North Stars finished third on the power play (24.8 percent), and sixth on the penalty kill (80.2 percent) this season, while Weyburn were 10^th on the man advantage (15.6 percent) and eighth on the P.K. (79.3).

Goaltending

Stars goalie Josh Kotai was the SJHL Top Goaltender Award winner this season, posting a 32-4-2-1 record, with a league-best 2.39 goals against average, and .935 save percentage, while facing the second-most shots against in the league (1,411).

Weyburn’s Dazza Mitchell was 17-12-0-1 this season, with a 2.85 goals against average (seventh) and .913 save percentage (tied for fourth amongst goaltenders).

Friday’s game at the Access Communications Centre will be available on 1050 CJNB, with the Ultra Print Pregame Show at 7 p.m., and puck drop to follow at 7:30 p.m. on the NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Hockey Broadcast.

The full series schedule can be found here.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1