There were many highlights for the Battlefords North Stars in 2023, coming on the ice and off. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Year for the ages

North Stars’ top moments from 2023: Part 2

Dec 29, 2023 | 5:00 AM

As 2023 nears its end, battlefordsNOW is reflecting on what was a year for the ages for the Battlefords North Stars, featuring a plethora of team and individual accomplishments. Below is Part 2/2 in the series looking back on the Stars’ last 12 months.

Division I scholarship boon

Five players from last year’s SJHL championship team secured NCAA Division I scholarships by summer 2023, as Jake Southgate committed to Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO, Holden Doell committed to Ferris State University in Big Rapids, MI, Steven Kesslering to Niagara University in Lewiston, NY; Tynan Ewart to St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, MN; and Josh Kotai to Augustana University in Sioux Falls, SD.

The momentum of North Stars’ players advancing to the NCAA Division I level continued this fall with Carson Olsen’s commitment to UMass Lowell.

North Stars 50^th Anniversary Weekend

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About 400 players, staff, fans, and families of Battlefords North Stars’ alumni, past and present, came out in late June to celebrate a half-century of franchise history at the North Stars 50^th Anniversary Weekend.

The celebration opened with a golf tournament at North Battleford Golf and Country Club, followed by supper and a social Friday evening… Read more here.

Among those in attendance was North Stars’ founder, Art Strueby, who caught up with battlefordsNOW about the team hitting the 50-year milestone as a franchise.

North Stars add Female Hockey School

For the first time, the Battlefords North Stars introduced a Female Hockey School to their regular summer camp program, featuring Battlefords AAA Sharks’ players who were on hand to help out the next generation of female hockey players taking part in the summer development camp… Read more here.

North Stars alumni shine with ACAC champion, Kings

North Stars’ alumni at Red Deer Polytechnic also had themselves a season for the books, as the Kings’ men’s hockey team took home its first ACAC championship in 29 years, with five former Battlefords North Stars’ now College hockey champions.

Former Stars’ standouts, Regan Doig, Jaxon Steele, Dylan Esau, Ryland McNinch, and Kristian Lyon were all members of this year’s Kings’ team that took home the title with a three-game best-of-five sweep over the defending champion NAIT Ooks… Read more here.

This concludes Part 2/2 of battlefordsNOW’s look back at some of the North Stars’ top stories from 2023. With several new memories to be made in 2024, one thing is for certain, this year will remain one filled with moments to cherish for fans of the team for years to come.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1