Battlefords hometown standout, Jordan Grill scored his ninth of the year Friday night, getting his team back to within a single goal late, though that's as close as the team would come in their late push to tie. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Fourth straight defeat

North Stars drop weekend opener 4-3 to Melfort

Mar 2, 2024 | 1:24 AM

Even a return to home ice at the Access Communications Centre couldn’t snap the Battlefords North Stars struggles of late, as the team saw their recent skid extend to four straight, dropping the opening night of their back-to-back with the Melfort Mustangs 4-3, Friday.

With the loss, Melfort leapfrog the North Stars into second overall in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) standings, by just a single point heading into night two of the teams’ weekend matchup, Saturday.

Following a scoreless first period that saw neither side hit double-digits for shots, Melfort opened the scoring midway through the second on an uncharacteristic breakdown by the North Stars, allowing Mustangs’ forwards Clay Sleeva and Aidyn Hutchinson to break in alone on a 2-on-0 from centre ice.

Arguably the two hottest players in the SJHL over the last week, coming off a combined 11 points (five goals, six assists) versus Estevan Wednesday, the pair made no mistake, with Hutchinson passing back to Sleeva cross-crease for a tap-in.

A 1-0 Melfort lead into the final minutes of the middle frame, the North Stars did answer back with a pair prior to the second intermission. The first came on a Kian Bell deflection of Josh Karman’s shot from the blue line for his 33^rd, to knot the score, 1-1.

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North Stars’ captain, Tanner Gold – who was a force throughout the night – then gave his team their first lead of the contest on a one-timer set up cross-seem for a 5-on-3 power play strike.

Coming with just over a minute to go in the first, the lead gave the North Stars a strong position heading into the third, ahead 2-1. However, out of the intermission, Melfort would respond in a big way.

After killing a full two-minutes of 5-on-3 for the Battlefords early in the third, Melfort found Tao Fory out of the box for a breakaway from centre, with the ‘AP’ call-up cashing in for his first in the SJHL.

Only adding an additional spark to his team, the Mustangs then scored again just under 40 seconds later, when Ryan Duguay tallied his 22^nd, scoring in his first game back from injury since Feb. 9.

In less than a minute, the North Stars had gone from pushing for a two-goal lead on the two-man advantage, to trailing by one, down 3-2.

Four minutes later, Austin Shepherd added his second of the year – and second in his last two games – to make it 4-2 Melfort, stunning Battlefords’ faithful in attendance.

Jordan Grill did answer back for the North Stars with his ninth of the season late on another Battlefords’ power play, though ultimately as close as the North Stars would come, falling 4-3 on the night.

Treycen Wuttunee nearly found the equalizer late on a breakaway chance fired through-the-wickets of the Melfort goalie, James Venne, though the veteran puck-stopper shut the pads just in the nick of time to keep his team in front.

Venne stopped 32-of-35 Battlefords’ shots on the night to backstop his team to victory, while Matthew MacArthur also made some big saves to keep his team in it throughout the night, stopping 23-of-27 in the Stars’ crease.

Now third overall in the SJHL standings with a 33-14-4 record through 51 games, the North Stars will return to play Saturday to wrap up their season series with the Mustangs, with a chance to retake second place in the rematch.

Saturday’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.

Scoring summary

First period:

No scoring

Second period:

10:14 MLF Clay Sleeva (19) ASST: Aidyn Hutchinson 1-0 MLF

17:13 BAT Kian Bell (33) ASST: Josh Karman 1-1 Tie

18:46 BAT Tanner Gold (9) ASST: Alex Izyk, Kian Bell (PP) 2-1 BAT

Third period:

4:01 MLF Tao Flory (1) ASST: Nolan Henderson 2-2 Tie

4:43 MLF Ryan Duguay (22) ASST: Logan Belton, Danton Cox 3-2 MLF

8:53 MLF Austin Shepherd (2) ASST: None 4-2 MLF

10:38 BAT Jordan Grill (9) ASST: Tanner Gold, Jackson Allan (PP) 4-3 MLF

4-3 MLF, the Final

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @MartyMartyPxP1