AAA Stars fall twice to Yorkton on tough weekend

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The Stars, who currently sit in a tie for eighth place in the standings, still have two games before their Christmas break.

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They host the 20-4-2 Prince Albert Mintos at the Civic Centre on Tuesday and then head on the road to face the Beardy’s Blackhawks on Thursday. Beardy’s and the Stars both have 22 points in the standings.

“We haven’t dissolved but we’ve got some injuries,” Johnston said, referring to his blueline. “We’ve gone pretty hard since September and a lot of the kids are tired and they want to go home. Christmas is coming. We have 17 kids that are billeted.”

It’s the first time this season the Stars have allowed 12 goals over a two-game span.

The club allowed 82 shots in the two games to Yorkton, while firing 63 themselves.

“We’ve got to look at tape to see why our defensive gap is so bad and then we’ve just got to get better. It’s a process,” Johnston urged. “I keep telling people and people don’t understand this: this is a tough league… We just need to settle down and get better. That’s what we need to do. Just keep on working.”

Johnston said that for a lot of the players, playing AAA midget hockey and living away from home is a new experience, which is why he’s preaching patience.

“There’s lots of things going on with hockey players nowadays,” he said. “You ask these kids, ‘Have you ever worked this hard?’ No. ‘Have you ever had this much structure? No. ‘Have you ever been under this much stress?’ No. ‘Have you ever had this kind of competition day in and day out?’ No. ‘Have you ever skated this hard in practice?’ No. So for a lot of these kids, it’s a brand new era for them.”

Following Thursday’s game, the Stars are off until Jan. 6.

They open 2018 with two road games against the second-place Regina Pat Canadians on Jan. 6 and 7. After that, there are still 15 games left in the regular season, which wraps up Feb. 18 on the road in Moose Jaw.

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11