The North Stars play this Friday and Saturday at the Access Communications Centre against the Yorkton Terriers. (Byron Hildebrand/Facebook)

By Austin Mattes

North Stars Week Preview

Big test for North Stars as Terriers come to town

Nov 6, 2024 | 8:00 AM

After getting three out of a total four possible points this past weekend against the Notre Dame Hounds, the Battlefords North Stars now look ahead to this weekend as they get ready to take on the Yorkton Terriers for the first time this season.

The Terriers currently hold a 10-7-0 record with 20 points on the season and are currently tied for fourth overall in the league with Battlefords but the North Stars have two games in hand.

Looking back at last season, the North Stars and Terriers played each other six times and ended up splitting the games, winning three a piece. Over the past five seasons, it’s been Battlefords whose had the edge going 10-4-1-1 against the Terriers.

Despite getting a win this past weekend, the North Stars will definitely need to see some improvements in their play against Yorkton. The team has had a hard time holding onto momentum this season, especially when leading. When going against this strong Yorkton team, they will not be able to take their foot off the gas if they want to see success.

The North Stars currently have three players who are top 20 in scoring with Nikita Ivashchenko, Rylan Williams and Jackon Allan. There will need to be big production from these guys if the team wants to continue climbing the standings like they have recently.

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On top of that, some of the team’s other top goal scorers like Elijah Anderson, Braden Nienaber and Anthony Campbell will need to be primed and ready to find the back of the net as Yorkton has been one of the better defensive teams, meaning depth scoring will be a must for this weekend.

Taking a look at the Terriers, their biggest threats this season have been Jaren Desnoyers, Dustin Renas and Keenan Ingram. All three of who are currently top 10 in goals scored with Desnoyers and Renas both having 10 and Ingram currently having nine.

Expect to see a lot from these players when they come to Battlefords this weekend and if the North Stars want to have any chance to be successful, they will at least need to shut down one of them.

For Goalies, both the North Stars and the Terriers have been solid in between the pipes. Justen Maric has been helped get some crucial wins this season for the North Stars and has helped kick start their success, holding a .902 save percentage and 2.82 goals against average. Battlefords second goalie, Connor Baumbach has also stepped up when needed, getting two wins in the only two games he’s played.

Callum Creig and Ethan Farrow have been the big duo for the Terriers so far, essentially splitting games between each other. But looking at the stats, it’s been Creig who has been the better, currently being the #1 goalie in terms of goals against, averaging 2.01 and third in save percentage with a 0.931. That being said, Farrow can play with the best of them as he is very experienced in the CJHL and won his first four starts this season, all against top tier teams.

Going into this weekend, the North Stars have a 9-4-2 record, are at the top of their division and were also listed as one of the Honourable Mentions in the CJHL Top 20 National rankings this week.

Games this weekend are on Friday and Saturday at the Access Communications Centre with puck drop for both at 7:30 p.m.

Tune into Friday’s Napa Auto Parts North Stars Hockey Broadcast on CJNB/CJNS with Ultra Print Pre-game Show starting at 7 p.m.

Then on Saturday, the Napa Auto Parts North Stars Hockey Broadcast will be on 93.3 Beach Radio with Ultra Print Pre-game Show starting at 7 p.m. as well.

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Austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes