The Battlefords North Stars could sweep the Mustangs and advance to the second round of the SJHL playoffs with a win on Wednesday. (Image Credit: Ryan Lambert/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Ryan Lambert

ON THE VERGE OF A SWEEP

North Stars take a 3-0 series lead with a 6-3 comeback win vs the Melfort Mustangs

Mar 25, 2026 | 1:14 AM

 The Battlefords North Stars have taken a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Melfort Mustangs with a 6-3 win in Melfort in game three. 

It was the third straight game that the Mustangs put up 40+ shots, but North Stars goaltender Kaeden Serpa turned away 37 of the 40 shots that he saw in the win. 

“He stopped some great A’s for sure. Power play, there were a lot of scrums in front, but he always seemed to be square to it, trying to cover it or clear up the net,” said North Stars assistant coach Owen Lamb postgame. “He did an excellent job tonight. He’s definitely making it hard on the Mustangs to get them by.” 

The Mustangs did get the first couple by Serpa early in the game. Just 4:46 into the first period, Tristin Ziola took a pass from Luke Mackenzie and scored a one-timer past Serpa to give the Mustangs an early 1-0 lead. 

Melfort doubled their lead just 56 seconds later at 5:42. On the power play, Dru Mushumanski walked in from the point on the right-hand side before firing the puck past Serpa to put the Mustangs up 2-0. 

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The North Stars were able to get one back on a power play of their own later in the period. Gavin Granger was in the box for the North Stars, so Linken Fisher took Granger’s spot on the top power play unit. At 12:40, Anthony Campbell found Linken Fisher in front of the net. Fisher scored from the slot to cut the Mustangs lead to 2-1. 

After one: 2-1 Mustangs 

After the Mustangs had a hot start in the first period, the North Stars returned the favour tenfold in the second period. Just 44 seconds into the frame, Campbell stripped Danton Cox of the puck behind the net before finding Knittig in the slot. Knittig shot a one-timer past Mustangs goalie Kason Kobelka to tie things up at 2-2. 

At 1:29, 45 seconds after Knittig tied it up, Alessio Nardelli gave the North Stars a 3-2 lead. Nardelli walked into the zone with the puck on a two-on-one alongside Owen Nelson. Nardelli elected for the shot, scoring top shelf to give the North Stars the one goal advantage. 

Later in the frame at 9:03, Mushumanski scored his second goal of the game from the high slot to tie things up at 3-3, setting up the third period to be the most crucial 20 minutes of hockey all series. 

After two: Tied 3-3 

In the second period, all three goals were scored in the first half of the frame. In the third, no goals were scored until the latter half. The North Stars got their second power play goal of the game. During a scramble in front, Finlay Klippenstein jammed it past Kobelka to make it 4-3 at the 11:45 mark. 

At the 15:44 mark, Klippenstein took a hooking penalty, setting up the Mustangs for their 10th power play opportunity and the biggest one of the game. 

Zayden Sadlemyer tucked the puck past Kaeden Serpa, but Carter Geysen stopped it on the goal line before it could get past the line for the Mustangs to potentially tie it. 

The North Stars killed off the penalty and Campbell scored the dagger. Cole Unger coughed up the puck to Campbell in the middle of the ice. Campbell came the other way on a breakaway, brought the puck to the backhand and slid it by Kobelka to give the North Stars a 5-3 lead at the 17:49 mark. 

“That was one of the nicest goals I’ve ever seen. To have the confidence to make a move like that in such a tight game, I would have never been able to do that,” said Lamb. 

Owen Nelson scored the empty netter at 18:08 to put the North Stars up 6-3. However, the fireworks weren’t done. 

The emotions started to boil over for the Mustangs in the last few minutes. A fight broke out between Kaleb Dewar and Rhett Vedress at 18:41. Just 26 seconds later at 19:07, Cole Hines and Lincoln Rogers dropped the gloves. 

After those fights, the clock ticked down, and the North Stars took the victory, pushing the Mustangs to the brink of elimination. 

Final score: 6-3 North Stars 

The North Stars held the Mustangs to 1-10 on the power play, which was a significant reason they were able to get the win. 

“Obviously we don’t want to be killing that much, but it’s given us lots of practice. Our guys did a great job,” said Lamb. “They were getting some looks, moving things down low, so (we) made a few adjustments to try and shut that down and just a little bit of a chess match. I thought our killers did a great job.” 

The North Stars have a chance to sweep the series in game four on March 25. Napa Auto Parts North Stars hockey gets going at 7:30 pm, Ultra Print pregame show is half hour before puck drop on CJNB/CJNS. 

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Ryan.Lambert@pattisonmedia.com