2019 was a year to remember for the Battlefords North Stars and their fans, with plenty of reason for celebration. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Exciting Times

North Stars 2019: A year highlighted by championship, hot early season follow-up

Dec 24, 2019 | 12:00 PM

The 2019 calendar year was one for the books for the Battlefords North Stars’ organization.

Here is a look back at some of the benchmark highlights from the year that was.

Stars claim second championship in three years

The Battlefords North Stars took home the title of 2019 Canalta Cup Champions in mid-April of 2019.

Heading into the playoffs, the team had clinched top spot in their division and the second seed overall, thanks to an overtime victory on the final night of the regular season.

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The North Stars, who finished the year as the hottest team on ice at 9-0-1 over their last 10, then rode their scorching play into the postseason.

The Stars’ magical playoff run began with an epic victory over the Flin Flon Bombers in Round 1, in a wild seven-game series. The memorable showdown featured four overtime contests, including a triple overtime thriller between the two teams.

The club then followed up their performance with an utterly dominant 4-0 sweep of the Yorkton Terriers. Holding the league’s most dynamic offence to just two goals total over the four games. Stars’ goaltender, Joel Grzybowski recorded three-straight shutouts in one of the most dominant stretches by a netminder in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) history.

In the League Final, the Stars topped the Melfort Mustangs in five games to claim the championship. The clinching victory came on home ice with a 7-2 final in the fifth game, to kick off the Canalta Cup victory celebration in front of the hometown Battlefords’ crowd.

Grzybowski, who picked up four shutouts on his way to a league-best, 1.68 goals-against average and .950 save percentage, took home unanimous Playoff MVP honours.

Stars’ captain, Spagrud wins SJHL Top Defenceman

Adding to his second championship in four years with the Battlefords, Stars’ captain Cody Spagrud claimed SJHL Top Defenceman honours as the cherry on top of his ‘Junior A’ career at the season-end awards.

Finishing the campaign with a career-high 42 points, the Gull Lake, Sask., product was a force to be reckoned with throughout the season at both ends of the ice.

With the hardware, Spagrud became just the third North Stars’ player to win Top Defenceman, joining Fraser Allan in 2006-07 and Drew Bagnall in 2002-03.

Tradition continues with another sizzling start

The North Stars picked up where they left off to start the 2019-20 campaign in September.

Storming out of the gates, the team won seven-straight to start the year – and 22 of their opening 23 games overall – to at one point be ranked #1 in the country.

After overcoming a slight bout of adversity on a stretch that saw the team go 1-3-2 to start December, the club bounced back to finish the month strong. The Stars rattled off three straight victories over the division-rival Broncos (twice) and Notre Dame Hounds, heading into the Christmas break.

The North Stars entered the holidays as the lone team to have eclipsed the 60-point mark prior to the New Year. The Battlefords hold a league-best 30-6-2 record, good for 62 points, through the opening four months of the year.

The team will look to pick up where they left off following the holiday layoff in January, eager to make 2020 a benchmark year to remember as well.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1