The North Stars start the playoffs this weekend against the Weyburn Red Wings (Byron Hildebrand/Facebook)

By Austin Mattes

Playoff Preview

North Stars gear up for first round matchup versus Red Wings

Mar 21, 2025 | 12:00 PM

The time has finally come, it’s playoffs in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and the Battlefords North Stars are getting ready to take on the third seed, Weyburn Red Wings in their first-round series.

Weyburn finished off the regular season with a 35-19-2-0 (W-L-OTL-SOL) record for 72 points but in their four matchups against the North Stars, they only won a single game, coming in a shootout back on Dec. 6, 2024.

North Stars Head Coach Martin Smith said that he expects a fast and physical Red Wings team, and that discipline will be important.

“They’re fast and they’re physical and they do like to finish their checks and try to get under your skin a little bit. It’s going to be important to match their speed, separate them from the puck and stay disciplined,” said Smith.

Looking at the special teams for both squads, Weyburn ended the regular season with the sixth-best powerplay, converting on 18.9% of their man advantages, while Battlefords finished with the third-best, converting 20.6% of the time.

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Then on the penalty kill, the Red Wings had the sixth-best, stopping teams 80.6% of the time, while the North Stars finished with the seventh-best, stopping teams 80.4% of the time.

The top players on Weyburn to watch out for will be Jerome Maharaj, Ethan Dekay and Jaxson Ruthven.

Maharaj leads the team in scoring with 65 points (15G-50A) and is a good skater with great vision, who can set up anyone on his team if given space.

Dekay is a Michigan Tech commit and is second in team points with 58 (24G-34A). He is an extremely fast skater with a great shot who can also create space and split defenders.

Ruthven is third in team points with 52 and first in goals with 26, he is an all-around solid player that has size and speed, he can do a little bit of everything.

For the North Stars, their top players going into the series are Anthony Campbell, Nikita Ivashchenko and Elijah Anderson.

Campbell leads the North Stars in goals with 29 and points with 55. He is a great skater with a precise shot that can score from anywhere as well as find open teammates. He exploded in the second half of the season, finishing the campaign with 24 points in 16 games.

Ivashchenko is second in team points with 50 (23G-27A) and is one the best, if not the best skater in the league. He is very elusive and can make big plays out of anything along with setup teammates for easy goals.

Anderson is third in team points with 47 (18G-27A) and is a very versatile player. He does all the little things from battling in the corner to laying out the body and chasing down loose pucks. He also has a rocket of a shot and is dangerous offensively anywhere on the ice.

Then for goaltending, the North Stars will rely on veteran, Justen Maric who finished the season with 3.17 GAA and .912 SV% but despite what the stats say is regarded as one of the best netminders in the league.

Weyburn will look to Angelo Zol, who has had a solid second season with the team, boasting a 2.63 GAA and .919 SV%, along with 27 wins.

Overall, the two teams matchup very well against each other and expect an offensive heavy game as in the four games between them already during the regular season, there was a total of 35 goals.

Smith said the biggest factor for the North Stars success in the series will be the small details.

“We got to do the little things right and you know that’s getting the puck deep and chipping pucks out and that’s playoff hockey. You got to play hard five on five and when you get opportunities on the special teams you got to capitalize. I think we’ve been playing playoff hockey the last few weeks and we just got to keep it rolling here into the playoffs,” he said.

The first game of the series is tomorrow, Friday, March 21, 7:00 p.m. at Crescent Point Place in Weyburn.

The full schedule for the series:

(SJHL/Website)

You can tune into all the games with the Napa Auto Parts North Stars Hockey Broadcast on CJNB/CJNS. UItra Print Pregame show starts half an hour prior to puck drop for all games.

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Austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes