The 2019-20 North Stars held top spot in the SJHL standings from day one of the regular season, never wavering throughout, to finish the campaign 45-11-2. The team was poised to make a run for their fourth championship in franchise history. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

North Stars brightest

A winning tradition (Part 2): Looking back on the 2019-20 North Stars

Apr 11, 2020 | 2:00 PM

The Battlefords North Stars have had a number of successful seasons throughout their nearly 40-years as a franchise.

This weekend, battlefordsNOW is highlighting the top three winningest seasons by the organization, in a countdown format from number three to number one, with the 2019-20 North Stars taking the second spot on the countdown this afternoon. (Click here to read Part 1, about the 1995-96 Stars).

The 2019-20 North Stars finished the regular season with a league-best 45-11-2 record, giving the team 92 points and a 13-point lead over second place, Flin Flon.

The team won their first two games on opening weekend by a 14-5 margin and never looked back; rattling off an unprecedented 22-1 record through their opening 23 games to earn the distinction of Number 1 in the country at the peak of their powers.

Background

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The North Stars entered the fall of 2019 with a high level of expectation. The team was coming off a 2018-19 campaign that saw the club capture their third Canalta Cup in franchise history, and second in three years as Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) champions.

Offense

Boasting more firepower than a John Wayne western, the North Stars finished the regular season second in goals (226), averaging just under four (3.89) per-contest.

‘The Wisconsin Wonder,’ Austin Becker led the team in scoring with 59 points, while Matthias Urbanski (57), Quintin Loon-Stewardson (55), Elijah Loon-Stewardson (53) and Ben Hiltz (53) also surpassed the prestigious 50-point mark.

The acquisition of Rylan Nivon (46 points) ahead of the season, along with the late-November additions of Hiltz and Jaxon Steele (25 points in 24 games) – brought about in separate blockbuster deals – established the forward group as a near unstoppable force.

Defence

The North Stars’ blue line would prove to be the foundation of the team and not-so-secret key ingredient to their success at both ends of the rink. The backend would help lead the Battlefords to the best goals-against in the league as they would allow just 150 goals-against (or 2.6 per-game) over the course of the season.

Team captain, Matthew Fletcher took home SJHL Top Defenceman honours, after finishing tied with teammate Seth Summers for second in league goals and points amongst defenceman, with each of the pair picking up 13 goals, 49 points apiece.

Not far off the pace, 19-year-old rearguard, Noah Form also finished top-5 in defenceman goals (11) and top-10 in points (36) while veteran, Dylan McCabe solidified the Stars’ ‘big four’ on the backend.

Altogether, the North Stars’ defence would combine for a league-best 51 goals, 180 points on the season.

Goaltending

‘A three-headed monster with six arms, six legs and three heads’ – that is perhaps the best way to sum up the North Stars’ goaltending during the 2019-20 season.

Running a three-goalie system throughout the campaign, the trio of Adam Dmyterko, Austin Schwab and Kristian Lyon thrived throughout the season, with all three netminders asserting themselves as a difference maker capable of backstopping a team to success.

Dmyterko finished the year winning 15 of his 19 games, and sporting a 2.51 goals-against average (GAA); while Schwab went 13-3 with a 2.70 GAA. Lyon – who was acquired at the trade deadline – won eight-of-nine games, while putting up a 2.33 (GAA), en route to getting the start for the club heading into the postseason.

Path through the postseason

Likely the biggest ‘what-if’ season in franchise history, the North Stars were leading the Nipawin Hawks 3-games-to-1 in the teams’ opening round, best-of-seven series when the SJHL season was cancelled prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the team’s post-season run was cut short, the 2019-20 North Stars gave fans and players alike a season to remember, as one of the top in franchise history.

Part 3 of ‘A winning tradition’ will feature a look at the 2016-17 North Stars and their 48-win, 97-point season; and will be posted Sunday at 2 p.m.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1