North Stars forward, Colby Bear tangles up with Weyburn's Matthieu Gautier Friday night at the ACC. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Saturday Night Hockey

North Stars shoot for 10th straight to wrap weekend series with Wings

Oct 8, 2022 | 2:00 PM

The Battlefords North Stars will shoot for their tenth straight win to open the season Saturday, as they face the Weyburn Red Wings for the second night of the teams’ back-to-backs this weekend.

The Stars lead the season-series 2-0 following a 2-1 victory Friday against the Wings, led by a strong performance between the pipes by Justen Maric and a pair of timely power play goals.

Stars forward, Keiton Klein (#23) is tied atop the SJHL goal leaderboard with eight goals through his first nine games this season. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

The Stars will see a return to play of their starting goaltender, Josh Kotai, after a rare night’s rest to open the weekend. Kotai leads all goalies with a 7-0 record and league-best 1.26 goals against average and .961 save percentage.

At the other end, Weyburn could start Dazza Mitchell for the second straight game, after a strong performance Friday that saw the 18-year-old stop 40 of 42 shots against to keep his team in the game throughout the night.

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Up front, the Battlefords will see leading scorer, Steven Kesslering serve the second and final game of his two-game suspension for a hit versus La Ronge Tuesday.

Keiton Klein, who scored his eighth of the season on a power play goal Friday, is now tied with Kesslering for the league lead in goals on the season, and has been especially lethal on the man-advantage where his five power play goals also pace the field.

Weyburn’s Ethan Whillans scored the lone goal for the Wings Friday night, in addition to being used in much of a matchup role against the top names on the Stars. Whillans now sits second in Red Wings scoring with six points in 10 games.

Special teams are another area to watch Saturday, after playing a defining role Friday. The North Stars scored both their goals on the man-advantage – a unit now clicking at over 27 percent (second overall).

Saturday’s NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Broadcast will be available on 1050 CJNB. The Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin at 7 p.m., with puck drop to follow at 7:30 p.m.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1