North Stars teammates celebrate following a victory last week. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Still top of the heap

North Stars top CJHL rankings for eighth week straight

Dec 14, 2022 | 5:41 PM

Make it eight straight weeks, and nine of the last 10, for the Battlefords North Stars as the number-one team in Canada.

The Stars (25-0-2-1) top the Canadian Junior Hockey League Top 20 Rankings following another perfect 3-0 showing last week that included a 3-1 win over the second place La Ronge Ice Wolves Dec 7, before sweeping their home-and-home with Nipawin over the weekend, with 3-1 and 4-1 victories Dec 9 and 10.

Kian Bell became the first player to be recognized as SJHL MVP of the Week multiple times this season, after leading the Stars in scoring with four goals and five points in three games last week. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Altogether, the Stars have won eight straight heading into their final road trip of the 2022 calendar year, as the team return to action for games Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night through central Saskatchewan.

The North Stars open their road trip Thursday, Dec. 15 in Yorkton, with games in Melville Friday then back in Yorkton Saturday, to take them into the Christmas holidays.

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All three games will be available on the NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Hockey Broadcast on 1050 CJNB. The Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin each night at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop at 7 p.m.

Rounding out the top five in the CJHL this week include the #2 Cobras de Terrebonne (26-2-0-0) of the Quebec Junior Hockey League, #3 Brooks Bandits (32-2-1-1) of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, and #4 Toronto Jr. Canadiens (27-3-1-1) and #5 Collingwood Blues (24-4-0-1) of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

Stars Players of the Week

In addition to the team recognition, the North Stars also had a pair of players highlighted in the recently released SJHL Players of the Week.

Kian Bell became the first player this season to be named MVP of the Week for a second time, after putting up four goals and an assist in three games to bring his league-leading goal total to 25 in just 25 games, while also now pacing all players in points with 45 on the year.

Bell has 10 goals and 16 points over his current eight-game point streak, for a 2.0 points per game average over the span.

Josh Kotai became the first goalie in the league to be named SJHL Goaltender of the Week for a third time this season.

Josh Kotai has set the benchmark for goaltending in the SJHL this season, leading all at the position in every major statistical category. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Playing two of the Stars’ three games, Kotai allowed just a single goal against in wins over La Ronge and Nipawin while stopping 79 of his 81 total shots against.

On the season, Kotai leads all goaltenders in wins (18), goals against average (1.94), and save percentage (.945).

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1