North Stars' forward Brayden Sinclair scored the game-winner for the Battlefords Saturday night in Nipawin, and enters play Wednesday with six goals and 10 points over his last eight games. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Wednesday Night Hockey

North Stars host Hounds for divisional showdown in N.B.

Nov 29, 2023 | 1:46 PM

Coming off back-to-back wins over Nipawin over the weekend, the Battlefords North Stars return to home ice Wednesday night in North Battleford, as the team host the Notre Dame Hounds for the first game of the season series between the Nutrien Division foes.

The North Stars enter play first in the division and second overall in the league standings with an 18-7-0-1 record through 26 games. With 37 points, the team sits just five back of the league-leading Flin Flon Bombers, while having won 12 of their last 13 overall.

The Hounds enter play fourth in the Nutrien and 12^th overall, with a 7-17-1-0 record, though just three points back of 10^th. Notre Dame will be looking to bounce back from a 5-2 loss to Kindersley Tuesday, heading into night two of their back-to-back.

Head coach of the North Stars, Brayden Klimosko said heading into the night’s matchup, getting off to a strong start will be key.

“The first couple shifts, that first 10 minutes, is going to be huge,” Klimosko said. “I think we came out a bit slow out of the gates in Nipawin [Saturday], so it’s important to have a good start tonight, kind of similar to the first game against Nipawin on Friday. We let in the first goal, but we really took it to them right away in that game, so I want us to get on [the Hounds] right away and put a lot of pressure on them right from the first period.”

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The North Stars are led by the dynamic duo of fellow 30-point scorers, Kian Bell and Ben Portner.

Bell enters play coming off another three-point performance (two goals, one assist) versus the Nipawin Hawks Saturday to lead the team to a 4-3 win, and is now up to third in league scoring with 34 points (15 goals, 19 assists) in just 13 games for an SJHL-best 2.62 points per game.

Portner is coming off a three-assist outing, with 11 points (two goals, nine assists) over his last seven, and 30 (eight goals, 22 assists) in 23 games this year. Tied for ninth in the league scoring race, the 19-year-old has also been amongst the league’s elite on the defensive side of the puck.

The Hounds are led offensively by Cole Wirun, who paces the team with nine goals and 20 points in just 16 games, having scored at least a single point in all but one contest. First-year forward DJ Freigang is also amongst the Hounds’ players to watch, as the Defending SJHL Rookie of the Week has four goals in his last five games with six points (four goals, two assists) in 10 games this year.

In goal, North Stars’ netminder Ben Dardis will make his second start with the team, coming off a 30/33 save performance in his SJHL debut Friday against Nipawin. Dardis is 1-0-0-0 with a 3.00 goals against average and .909 save percentage.

Notre Dame is likely to start Johann Tremblay-Kau, who has played 18 of his team’s first 25 games. Coming off a 33-save effort Tuesday, Tremblay-Kau is 7-11-0-0 with a 4.41 goals against average and .887 save percentage.

Wednesday’s NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Broadcast 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.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

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