Jordan Grill of the North Stars faces off with a Bruins' player at centre ice, Friday. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

5-4, the final

North Stars’ comeback falls just short in OT loss to Bruins

Dec 2, 2023 | 12:11 AM

The Battlefords North Stars battled back from down 3-0 at the end of the first and 4-3 late in regulation time, to take the Estevan Bruins to overtime, coming away just shy of completing the comeback, in a 5-4 OT loss Friday in North Battleford.

A 3-0 Bruins’ lead at the end of the first, thanks largely to a pair of power play goals, the North Stars would answer back in the second on a power play marker of their own, from captain Tanner Gold.

Gold’s fifth of the year and first of two on the night, the tally cut the Estevan lead back down to two goals through 40 minutes, heading into the third period.

Kian Bell’s 17^th of the year then got the Battlefords to within one, followed by Brayden Sinclair’s 10^th on another power play tally, to make it a new game at 3-3 just past the midway mark of the third.

After defenceman Blake Heward’s fourth again put the Bruins ahead again late on a power play marker inside the final four minutes, the Stars’ best sustained attack came late in regulation time with the goalie pulled on a power play, to have the six-on-four advantage.

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Pushing right to the final horn, Gold’s second of the game and sixth of the year delivered the team the tying goal with just under eight seconds to go, to bring the crowd to their feet with thunderous applause, and force OT.

Despite the valiant effort to never give up and come back twice over, the North Stars’ fairytale finish hit midnight just ahead of schedule, when Bruins’ forward Tristan Dussault fired home a short-side wrister for the overtime winner in sudden death three-on-three.

North Stars’ goalie Joey Hawco stopped 37/42 Bruins’ shots to keep his team in it throughout the night, while Bruins ‘tender Jackson Miller went 26/28 for the Bruins in the win.

Despite the loss, the North Stars still pick up a single point in the defeat, due to making it to OT. The team are now 19-7-1-1 through 28 games, ahead of their return to home ice Saturday to cap the weekend against the Melville Millionaires.

The NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Broadcast will be available Sat. on 1050 CJNB with the Ultra Print Pregame Show at 7 p.m. and puck drop to follow at 7:30 p.m.

Scoring summary

First period:

10:06 EST Felix Allard (10) ASST: Owen Barrow, Ilia Chimelevski 1-0 EST

13:52 EST Dillon Jackson (3) ASST: Keagon Little 2-0 EST

15:42 EST Ilia Chmelevski (11) ASST: Zach Burfoot, Felix Allard 3-0 EST

Second period:

15:51 BAT Tanner Gold (5) ASST: Brad Blake, Kian Bell 3-1 EST

Third period:

8:19 BAT Kian Bell (17) ASST: Easton Rask, Brad Blake 3-2 EST

10:15 BAT Brayden Sinclair (10) ASST: Hunter Burgeson, Alex Izyk 3-3 Tie

16:03 EST Blake Heward (4) ASST: Owen Barrow, Keagon Little 4-3 EST

19:52 BAT Tanner Gold (6) ASST: Alex Izyk, Kian Bell 4-4 Tie

3:43 EST Tristan Dussault (8) ASST: None 5-4 EST

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @MartyMartyPxP1