The North Stars will look to take a 2-0 series advantage when they face off with the Mustangs in game two on Saturday. (Image Credit: Byron Hildebrand Photography/Facebook)

By Ryan Lambert

NORTH STARS TAKE GAME ONE

North Stars take 1-0 series lead with 4-2 win over the Melfort Mustangs

Mar 21, 2026 | 1:29 AM

The Battlefords North Stars came out of the gate strong with a 4-2 win over the Melfort Mustangs to take a 1-0 series lead in the first round of the playoffs. North Stars goaltender Kaeden Serpa had 40 saves on 42 shots in the win. 

For the North Stars, it was huge to get the first win of the playoffs out of the way to start according to assistant coach Owen Lamb. 

“It’s so good for the players’ confidence and feeling food because the playoffs are a new season,” said Lamb. Everyone knows that everyone’s kind of unsure. We got a lot of younger guys in the lineup, so getting their feet wet and being able to pull out the first one of the series was huge for us.” 

After a back-and-forth first period, the North Stars got on the board first. Throughout the regular season, the North Stars penalty kill scored a league leading 16 goals. Naturally, the penalty kill gets the first goal of the playoffs. 

On the penalty kill, Anthony Campbell took the puck away from Darren Hunt behind the net before sending it in front to Cole Hines. Hines scored from the slot on a one-timer to give the North Stars a 1-0 lead with 59 seconds left in the first period. 

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“That was an awesome moment, the bench erupted. He’s so deserving, (Campbell) made a great play there. Turned over a puck and found Hines there, and he made that opportunity count,” said Lamb. 

After one: 1-0 North Stars 

At the 6:46 mark of the second period, the North Stars scored their second special teams’ goal of the game, this one on the power play. Josh Knittig had the puck in the corner before trying to find Finlay Klippenstein in front. 

The puck didn’t get to Klippenstein but went off a defender and into the net to make it 2-0 for the North Stars. 

At 9:22, the Mustangs had a power play opportunity. Dru Mushumanski had the puck down low, passed it out to Zayden Sadlemyer. The Mustangs captain had a near empty net to shoot at and made no mistake, cutting the lead to 2-1. 

The North Stars restored the two-goal lead before the end of the period. At four-on-four, Alessio Nardelli and Owen Nelson walked into the zone on a two-on-two break. They crossed sides and Nardelli skated towards the net on the left side before shooting the puck short side over the shoulder of Mustangs goaltender Kason Kobelka to put the North Stars up 3-1 at the 14:01 mark. 

“He had that opportunity in the slot, and everybody knew that he was going to pick that corner there, and he did,” said Lamb. 

After two: 3-1 North Stars 

Early in the third period, the Mustangs cut the deficit to one goal. On a two-on-one, Austin Shepherd passed the puck across to Kaleb Binner, and Binner scored top shelf to make it a 3-2 game at 2:14. 

The Mustangs were pressuring for most of the period, outshooting the North Stars 17-6 in the third period. However, the North Stars were able to weather the storm, and Anthony Campbell scored an empty netter at the 19:21 mark to seal the game. 

Final score: 4-2 North Stars 

Series: 1-0 North Stars 

While the Mustangs outplayed the North Stars in the final frame, Lamb mentioned one simple thing that helped the team’s mentality in the final stretch. 

“The pressure was on them. They were still behind. They had to catch us. So just realizing that and sticking to our game playing the right way and just trying to clog up that middle, keep them to the outside and just really buy into playing good defensively.” 

The North Stars will look to take a 2-0 series lead into Melfort when they play game two of the series on Saturday. Napa Auto Parts North Stars hockey begins at 7:30 on CJNB/CJNS. 

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Ryan.Lambert@pattisonmedia.com