Click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter

AAA Stars snag four points over weekend

Dec 5, 2016 | 1:00 PM

The AAA Stars played perhaps their most complete game of the season this past Saturday, shutting out the Tisdale Trojans 5-0, and then followed up with another victory on Sunday, beating Tisdale 4-3 in overtime.

The wins were much needed for a team that entered the weekend at 7-11-0-2 and in 10th place.

“That was huge for us,” Stars head coach Jean Fauchon said on Monday morning. “We played five out of six periods really well. We played smart, we played disciplined, and we were going full out. We wanted the wins. I’m very proud of the boys this weekend for the effort they put in.”

Saturday’s effort was something fairly new: a complete 60-minute effort, limiting Tisdale to only 21 shots on goal.

Lance Alm got the shutout, while three different Stars had multi-point games – Dayton Buchanan, Luke Reid, and Jaden Shewchuk – and nine different players had at least a point.

“We finally played our game,” Fauchson said. “We were able to limit them in their shots that game because of our aggressive forecheck, so we were hemming them in there a bit and they weren’t getting as many opportunities down in our zone. It was a just a complete game by everybody.”

Tisdale was able to get a point from the Stars in the second game, but it could have been worse if not for a good push back effort on Sunday.

The Stars saw their 3-0 lead diminish to 3-2 in the second period, and eventually had the game get tied up in the third. But Jaden Shewchuk’s overtime winner ensured his squad came away with the win and was able to snag all four points in the two games.

The wins helped the Stars hop two teams in the standings, going from 10th to 8th.

“In the series for the whole season, we have taken six of eight points from [Tisdale] so that was much needed,” Fauchon said. “That is one of the teams we are trying to catch.”

Backup goalie Joseph Young also stood out in Sunday’s win, stopping 43 of 46 shots he faced.

The focus for the Stars now quickly shifts to the Prince Albert Mintos, who are in town Tuesday.

Battlefords will practice on Monday but not on gameday, and they will focus both on themselves and on shutting down Mintos star Logan Barlage.

“What we’re stressing is get pucks to the net, get traffic in front, and good things will happen,” Fauchon said.

“If we can shut down Barlage, we’ll have a good chance of winning,” he added. “The last game he just played, they shut him down, so it is doable. We’ve just got to make sure we go out and play solid defence, not only when he’s out there, but when everyone’s out there because they do have a good team.”

Alm will start on Tuesday, who carries a .924 save percentage this season.

The Mintos are 11-9-0-1 this season, just three points ahead of Battlefords in the standings.

 

Nathan Kanter is battlefordsNOW’s sports reporter and voice of the Battlefords North Stars. He can be reached at Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca or tweet him @NathanKanter11