North Stars' goaltender Matthew MacArthur, pictured here in action against the Notre Dame Hounds. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Between the pipes

MacArthur acquisition solidifies goaltending for North Stars

Jan 10, 2024 | 3:10 PM

It didn’t take long for recent Battlefords North Stars’ acquisition, Matthew MacArthur to turn heads across the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), shutting the door Sunday night in his Stars’ debut to earn a 27-save shutout at Notre Dame.

A baptism by fire of sorts for the 19-year-old netminder, the start came just under 48 hours after first arriving in the Battlefords – in his first-ever venture into Saskatchewan. That followed his acquisition from the Austin Bruins of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) in exchange for a Player Development Fee just prior to the weekend.

A product of Barrington, IL., USA, MacArthur posted a 2.81 goals against average and .884 save percentage over seven games with the Bruins the last two seasons. He said coming over to a new league from south of the border, it was valuable to get to watch the first game of the trip Saturday, to get a feel for what to expect heading into his debut.

“The style of hockey is definitely different; it’s more of a puck-possession game here as opposed to in the Central [Division of the NAHL] where I was playing, where they tend to just dump pucks and retrieve them to build off the forecheck,” he said. “I think that was really for the best, to see and know what to expect here.”

MacArthur described his style of play as “an athletic goaltender who loves to compete,” something evident from his debut start, which included a pair of excellent side-to-side stops on both a shorthanded two-on-one chance for Notre Dame’s Kyle Kalamaras and a wraparound bid late by Jacob Lundeen.

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“Just to be able to jump in like that on the second game of a road swing, he made some huge stops for us and bailed us out at some key times,” assistant coach, Garry Childerhose said postgame Sunday. “It was a great opening game for him and happy to see him get that shutout, and I know the guys were really happy for him as well.”

North Stars’ goaltending outlook

MacArthur’s acquisition comes as the final of three dominoes to fall over the last week, as the North Stars look to solidify their goaltending for the stretch drive of the season.

Matthew MacArthur will join Logan Cunningham to form the Battlefords’ goaltending tandem down the stretch. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

The first came when it was announced the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League would be keeping early-season North Stars’ starter Justen Maric up with the club for the remainder of the season.

The Stars then traded goalie Joey Hawco to the Princeton Posse of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) for a PDF. They released Ben Dardis, to make room for McArthur’s acquisition within the league’s 25-man roster constraints.

Head coach and general manager, Brayden Klimosko said the plan will be to rotate MacArthur and fellow recently-acquired netminder Logan Cunningham, who has been nothing short of lights out in his own right since joining the team. Cunningham has posted a perfect 4-0-0 record through his first four games, along with a 2.00 goals against average and .925 save percentage.

The North Stars will return to action Saturday for their first home game of the New Year, in North Battleford. The NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Broadcast will be available Saturday 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

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1