Forwards, Matthias Urbanski and Tyler Traptow are key cogs to their respective team’s attack, each in their third season of SJHL play. Urbanski sits third in Stars’ scoring with 36 points, while Traptow ranks fourth on the Klippers with 18 points this year. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

New Year, Same Rivalry

North Stars kick off New Year with home-and-home versus Klippers

Jan 3, 2020 | 2:00 PM

Following a 12-day hiatus over the Christmas break, the Battlefords North Stars will return to the ice Friday for their first game action of the new 2020 calendar year.

Adding additional spring to the team’s collective step, Friday’s contest will also be played in Kindersley against the division rival Klippers. The matchup will serve as the first of what will be back-to-backs in a home-and-home set against their foes to the south this weekend.

The Stars enter play looking to pick up where they left off prior to the holiday layoff. In addition to carrying a league-best 30-6-2 record into the New Year with 62 points, the team has also been especially hot of late, having won three straight.

Meanwhile, Kindersley will be a highly motivated club in their own right. The Klippers are currently clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the league standings with 34 points, thanks to a 14-17-6 record on the campaign.

The Stars are 2-1-1 against the Klippers this season, but will be looking to bounce back from the teams’ last meeting, back on Dec. 7, that saw the Klippers become the first team to shutout the Stars this year, 2-0 the final.

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Offensively, the Klippers are led up front by second-year forward, Liam Fraser. Fraser has posted 19 goals and 31 points in 35 games this season, with 11 of those goals coming over his last 10 games.

The North Stars counter with an explosive offensive attack in their own right, as the team has collected 17 goals over their three-game winning streak. Even more impressive, nine different players have chipped in with at least a single goal over the span.

Forward, Jaxon Steele and defenceman, Timon Prexler have likely been the hottest goal scorers for the team of late.

Steele carries a three-game goal scoring streak into play Friday, with five goals total over his last five games. Prexler has four goals over his last three outings, while making the most of his increased role on the back end as of late.

The Stars will need their offensive depth to continue to shine Friday, as the team will be without star winger, Elijah Loon-Stewardson. Missing the night’s action due to a lower body injury, the native of Sioux Lookout, Ont., sits fourth in team scoring with 35 points in 34 games this year.

In goal, netminder Austin Schwab will get the start for the Battlefords on the night.

Schwab has posted a sterling 8-2 record this season, to go along with a 2.73 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.

At the other end, Klippers’ goalie, Matt Sankner is likely to get the nod, as the 19-year old has started 10 of his team’s last 11 games.

Sankner has also been a force this year, having posted a 2.36 goals-against average and .933 save percentage. Sankner has been especially dominant against the Battlefords this year, stopping 72 of 74 Stars’ shots through his prior two games against the team this season.

Friday’s game will be broadcast on 1050 CJNB. The Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin at 7:15 p.m. with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. on NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Hockey.

North Stars lineup

Forwards:

A. Becker, Q. Loon-Stewardson, R. Nivon

M. Urbanski, B. Hiltz, J. Steele

K. Boser, D. Esau, S. Kesslering

C. Reagan, R. McNinch, L. Spence

Defencemen:

S. Summers, M. Fletcher

N. Form, D. McCabe

L. Antoniuk, T. Prexler

Goaltenders:

A. Schwab

A. Dmyterko

—

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1