Saturday night closed out the back-half of a gritty home-and-home this weekend between the North Stars and Bobcats. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

old time hockey

Stars show teeth despite 3-0 loss to Bobcats

Sep 7, 2019 | 11:25 PM

They may not be natural rivals, or even play in the same league; but don’t tell that to the Battlefords North Stars and Lloydminster Bobcats.

The North Stars fell 3-0 to the Bobcats Saturday in a contest that had all the grit and sizzle of a midseason showdown between vaunted rival teams at the Centennial Civic Centre in Lloydminster.

Bobcats’ forward Tyler Schendel, opened the scoring for the home team with a power play goal at the 12:40 mark of the first period. Alex Danis and Kris Bladen added to the Cats’ lead and goalie, Cale Edler stopped all 21 shots he faced in the opening half.

Eighteen-year-old Garrett Larsen closed out the contest with another 15 saves of his own to secure the win.

For the Stars, goaltenders Parker Rey and Dylan Barton combined for 33 stops on the night.

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The real story of the evening however, was the level of animosity between the two sides, throughout.

With nearly every whistle leading to another scrum, tensions finally boiled to a head with just over five minutes to go in the second period.

Following another chippy shift and a brief moment of conversation, the gloves were off and fists were flying. Just like that, Stars’ forward Carson Reagan and the Bobcats’ Jayven Leslie had shed their mitts to go toe-to-toe.

While the bout would end the night for the pair, the extracurricular activities were far from over.

From roughing calls, to unsportsmanlike conduct, each team picked up enough two-minute minors to keep an accountant busy adding up the penalty minute totals by night’s end.

Although plenty of opportunity was had with the man-advantage for each side, the opening tally from the first period was the lone special teams’ breakthrough.

With the loss, the Stars now hold a 1-2 record in the preseason with just one tune-up game remaining. Lloydminster meanwhile, improves to 1-2 as well.

The North Stars will return to action Sunday night for their third game in three nights to close out the exhibition schedule.

The Stars will play the Bonnyville Pontiacs in Bonnyville in their final game. Puck drop will be at 6 p.m.

Game one of the regular season will kick off Friday, Sept. 13. Fans can catch the broadcast on 1050 CJNB. The Pregame Show will begin at 7:15 p.m. with puck drop at 7:30 p.m.

Scoring summary

First period:

12:40 LBC Tyler Schendel ASST: Tanner Mack (PP)

Second period:

LBC Alex Danis ASST: Gunner Kinniburgh

Third period:

6:33 LBC Kris Bladen ASST: Ty Mosimann

3-0 Bobcats, the final.

—

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1