Sam Kirwan, the North Stars' seventh overall selection from the 2023 SJHL Bantam Draft, scored a goal Sunday and was engaged in the action throughout. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Pre-season begins

North Stars double Klippers 8-4 in Rookie Game

Sep 10, 2023 | 6:41 PM

The Battlefords North Stars kicked off their exhibition schedule for the 2023-24 season Sunday afternoon at the ACC.

Playing host to the Kindersley Klippers for a Rookie Game – featuring top prospects from both sides – despite an early jump by the Klippers’ young guns to start the game, it was the Stars who came away victorious with an 8-4 win that saw six different players chip-in on the scoring.

“It was a full team effort and everyone did their part to make the team succeed,” forward Cole King said, following a two-goal performance. “Obviously it got a little rough there at the end but I think that really motivated us to do better and finish the game off strong.”

Mason Osinski scored a goal in Sunday’s win for the Stars, centering a line between Jace Rask and Sam Kirwan. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

The Klippers opened the scoring just 3:29 into the contest, on a goal by Cam Perlinger, set up by Cobe Perlinger and Ethan Sautner. Just passed the midway mark of the first, the visitors then added to their advantage with a pair of special teams’ goals.

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First Carter Tuplin made it 2-0 Klippers with a shorthanded marker, then defenceman Jaxon Herchak jumped into the play for a backdoor one-timer on a Kindersley power play to give his team some added insurance at 3-0.

However, the North Stars rookies answered back before the end of the first, when left-winger Cole King scored his first of the pre-season to get the Battlefords back to within a pair heading into the second.

In the middle period, it was then the Stars who came out flying, and didn’t stop.

Carter Geysen scored just 3:34 into the frame to cut the deficit to a single goal, with Jackson Fox’s first of two knotting the score 3-3 on a breakaway tally.

Just two minutes after that, Geysen showed his slick playmaking abilities to launch a breakaway feed for Cole King – from his own blue line, over two Klippers’ sticks – to send his linemate in alone.

Having his stick slashed out of his hands on the initial chance, King would make good on his penalty shot, snapping home a quick wrister to bring the ACC into hysterics with the Stars’ first lead of the game at 4-3.

Three more unanswered goals from Fox (his second), Mason Osinski and Sam Kirwan gave the Stars six straight in the period to swing the game to a 7-3 Battlefords advantage heading into the third period.

“It felt good out there, the boys were buzzing,” Jackson Fox said postgame. “It was a nice and physical game out there and obviously, a nice comeback win. Once we got that first one it just kept going forward.”

In the third, Kindersley’s Ethan Sautner scored his first of the exhibition schedule, before Stars’ blue liner Sam Lukenchuk added the final goal of the day to make it an 8-4 North Stars’ final.

Both teams saw their goaltenders split duties to see action.

Cedric Cyr-Dauphinais stopped 11/14 to start the game for the North Stars, before Joey Hawco got the tap to come in midway through the second, stopping 16/17.

At the other end, Jacob Morris went 12/17, before Brady Carr finished up stopping 22/25 in the Klippers’ crease.

The game kicks off a busy week ahead for the North Stars. The team will play the La Ronge Ice Wolves Monday at Flying Dust First Nation, the Humboldt Broncos Tuesday in Humboldt, and the Kindersley Klippers Wednesday in Kindersley, before wrapping up their pre-season schedule Sunday (Sept. 17) against the La Ronge Ice Wolves in La Ronge.

The team’s full pre-season schedule, complete with dates and times can be found here.

The North Stars’ pre-season games will not be broadcast on 1050 CJNB. Radio broadcasts for each game will begin with the start of the regular season.

Scoring summary

First period:

3:29 KIN Cam Perlinger (2) ASST: Ethan Sautner, Cobe Perlinger 1-0 KIN

10:47 KIN Carter Tuplin (1) ASST: Turner Krahn, Cam Perlinger (SH) 2-0 KIN

13:36 KIN Jaxon Herchak (1) ASST: Jacob Wagner, Justice Loewen (PP) 3-0 KIN

14:50 BAT Cole King (1) ASST: Sam Lukenchuk, Keegan Nash 3-1 KIN

Second period:

3:34 BAT Carter Geysen (1) ASST: None 3-2 KIN

6:52 BAT Jackson Fox (1) ASST: Kaleb Dewar, Devante Pratt 3-3

8:19 BAT Cole King (2) ASST: None (Penalty Shot) 4-3 BAT

8:40 BAT Jackson Fox (2) ASST: Will Kirwan, Devante Pratt 5-3 BAT

15:38 BAT Mason Osinski (1) ASST: Jace Rask 6-3 BAT

17:33 BAT Sam Kirwan (1) ASST: Jace Rask (PP) 7-3 BAT

Third period:

3:10 KIN Ethan Sautner (1) ASST: Cobe Perlinger, Cam Perlinger 7-4 BAT

4:35 BAT Sam Lukenchuk (1) ASST: Cole King 8-4 BAT

8-4 North Stars, the final

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1