The Battlefords North Stars beat the Weyburn Red Wings 4-3 in OT last night (Byron Hildebrand/Facebook).

By Austin Mattes

4-3 OT Win

Rask OT winner keeps North Stars playoff run alive

Mar 30, 2025 | 3:31 AM

There was no shortage of action last night at Crescent Point Place in Weyburn as the Battlefords North Stars won 4-3 in overtime on a goal from Jace Rask to beat the Weyburn Red Wings and force Game 6 of their playoff series.

In the first period, the North Stars came out to a slow start and had a hard time getting things going offensively. They struggled to get shots on net and on top of that, also took some bad penalties. This eventually resulted in the first and only goal of the period, coming from the Red Wings to give them a 1-0 lead going into the second period.

Coming out for the second, Battlefords slowly started to turn things up, scoring an early goal on a 5-on-3 powerplay from Nikita Ivashchenko to tie the game 1-1. However, the tie was short lived as the Red Wings answered back quickly with one of their own to take a 2-1 lead.

Just two minutes after that though, the North Stars were able to find the back of the net again and even the score, this time from Josh Knittig to make it 2-2. Then as the period went on, it seemed liked Battlefords was starting to take the edge, but the Red Wings struck the nylon again to with just 7 minutes left in the period to go up 3-2 into the intermission.

For the third period, it was an all out physical battle between the two teams with neither one letting off the gas. Both sides had their fair share of shots and big hits throughout the period, but it wasn’t until the final five minutes that Nikita Ivashchenko finally tied the game for the North Stars with a goal right at the doorstep to make it 3-3.

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Then to finish off regulation time, there was some decent opportunities from either end but the clock ran out and the game needed overtime.

In overtime, the North Stars set the tone right away, putting on constant pressure and forcing Weyburn down in their own zone. Then, only three minutes into the extra period, Jace Rask made a huge play to get the puck open in the slot and put on a rocket that lit the lamp, giving Battlefords the big 4-3 win.

The North Stars got outshot 37 to 36, went 1/7 on the powerplay and stopped Weyburn all four times on the penalty kill.

Justen Maric stepped up again, stopping 34/37 shots in the game while making some highlight reel saves in the process.

Battlefords still trails 3-2 in the series but will have a chance to tie it up when they come back to the Access Communications Centre for Game 6, this Monday, March 31.

Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. and you can tune into all the action with the Napa Auto Parts North Stars Hockey Broadcast on CJNB/CJNS. Ultra Print Pregame show starts at 7:00 p.m.

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austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes