The North Stars head to Flin Flon this weekend to play back-to-back games against the Flin Flon Bombers (Byron Hildebrand/Facebook).

By Austin Mattes

North Stars Week Preview

North Stars set to embark on biggest road trip of season ahead of playoffs

Mar 6, 2025 | 12:14 PM

With just four games left in the regular season, the Battlefords North Stars have officially clinched a playoff spot and seem to be playing some of the best hockey they have all season.

They are currently on a four-game win streak, sixth overall in the league with a 27-20-3-2 (W-L-OTL-SOL) record, first in the Nutrien division and on top of that, have the third-best powerplay in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL).

Now, still only one point ahead of Humboldt in the standings, the North Stars will be put to the test this weekend with their biggest road trip of the season as they head to the rowdy Whitney Forum in Flin Flon to take on the Flin Flon Bombers in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.

Flin Flon currently boasts a 35-12-3-1 record for 74 points and are second overall in the league. This will be the third, fourth and final matchup between the North Stars and Bombers with the season series currently tied at one game apiece.

The two top players that the Bombers will look to this weekend will be their leading scorers, Ryder Ringor and Keefe Gruener. Ringor leads the Bombers in points with 58 (25G, 33A) and despite not having any points against the North Stars this season, has been an important piece to the Bombers offence and is a great skater who can score from anywhere on the ice.

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Gruener isn’t far behind with 53 points but is second in the league and first on the Bombers in goals scored with 30. Apart from getting goals, Gruener also does all the little things from battling in the corner to hustling on the back check, he is a complete player and also one of the best draw-takers in the league. The North Stars will have to do their best to shut both of them down if they want to limit the Bombers offensive production.

The biggest impact player on the Bombers though, without a doubt, is goaltender Matthew Kieper. Kieper leads the league with a 1.73 GAA and a .939 SV%. Since joining the Bombers in early November, Kieper has had an unbelievable record of 21-1-1-1 and has been the backbone of the Bombers team. If the North Stars want to find the back of the net against him, the key will be getting lots of shots on net and looking to get second and third shot opportunities off the rebounds.

For the North Stars, they have been playing some great hockey recently and if they want to continue with it, it will all come down to having good starts. The Bombers are 21-1 when leading after the first period and 29-0 when leading after the second period this season, so Battlefords has to come out early and score some goals because if they find themselves down, it’ll be hard to climb back.

Another factor for the North Stars this weekend will be their lineup. The team has been facing injuries and illness all season and hasn’t had a full lineup too often, so if the team can see a majority of their players in the lineup for this matchup, it will definitely make a big difference.

In terms of scoring for Battlefords, the hot lineup of Anthony Campbell, Nikita Ivashchenko and Josh Knittig will need to keep firing on all cylinders and racking up the points just like they have. That being said though, secondary scoring will also be important, and the North Stars will need to see everyone get involved and get on the scoresheet if they want to see success.

Puck drop for both games will be at 7:30 p.m. and you can tune into the games with the Napa Auto Parts North Stars Hockey Broadcast on CJNB/CJNS, Ultra Print pregame show starts at 7:00 p.m. on both nights.

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Austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes