North Stars begin 2017 right where they left off
It may be a new calendar year, but the North Stars were up to their old tricks again: scoring goals and winning games.
In the highly anticipated rematch to November’s 8-6 loss to the Estevan Bruins – a loss that saw Battlefords’ 13-game winning streak come to an end – the North Stars showed who’s boss by beating the league’s second best team 6-3 on the road on Friday night.
Battlefords showed no rust at all after their 19-day break from the schedule, jumping out to a 3-0 lead after just 20 minutes thanks to two power play goals and a well executed 3-on-2 rush from their top line of Ben Allen, Coby Downs, and Layne Young, with Young finishing it off for his 19th goal of the season.
“I didn’t know if [we] would come out flat and certainly [we] didn’t, so real proud of the way they handled things,” North Stars head coach Nate Bedford said after the team’s fourth straight win. “I was obviously a little bit nervous about having a two-week break – I don’t think I’ve ever had one – but I just thought with our discipline off the ice, I thought they deserved it.”