North Stars reflect on first goal milestones (Part 2)

“I just remember I was sitting in front of the net there and the puck squirted out and I knocked it in back-door, so it was pretty exciting because I was just in the right spot at the right time,” he said.

North Stars #10, Riley Girod with his first goal puck. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Girod added that the group’s enthusiasm on his behalf also added to the memory, with head taps and smiles all around on the way back to the bench.

“It just shows how our team is so tight and we bonded throughout the year,” he said. “It’s just amazing what we’ve accomplished so far.”

Girod sits third in Stars’ rookie scoring with 12 points in 25 games at the Christmas break. He has been especially hot of late, since being elevated in the lineup to the left wing alongside veterans Colby Bear and Keiton Klein, with five points in his last six games.

Marshall Light – First goal, Oct 20, 2022

Light’s first SJHL goal came following a quick play in transition, to spring the Moosomin product on a breakaway. Cashing in for a highlight-reel tally to open the scoring against Yorkton at the ACC, his goal would set the Stars on their way to a 9-3 victory over the Terriers.

North Stars #20, Marshall Light with his first goal puck. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

“I remember as I hopped on the ice the play was coming back to our end, and [Colby] Bear was backchecking,” Light said. “Bear turned the puck over [on a steal], and passed it right to me. I got in alone and deked the goalie out and was lucky enough to bury my first one.”

In 16 games played this season, Light has a goal and two points, while using his speed as a weapon offensively as described on his first goal, and throughout the three zones on the ice.

Owen Underhill – First goal, Nov. 5, 2022

Much like Light, Underhill’s first also came just the way he likely dreamed of, growing up playing out on the driveway. Coming just 18 seconds into the opening period on the first shift of the night in Weyburn, Underhill’s first was also a beauty, proving invaluable en route to a 4-3 win over the Wings.

North Stars #15, Owen Underhill with his first goal puck. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

“I remember we were in Weyburn and it had been my first time getting in the lineup in a while,” Underhill recalled. “It was me, Shieldsy [Ashtyn Shields], and Lighter [Marshall Light] out to start, and 18 seconds in I just found myself in alone on a breakaway. The goalie came out and I made a little move on him, and put it right up high.”

“I remember my billet brother Tynan [Ewart] was on the ice at the same time and everyone was pretty juiced up about it,” he added with a laugh.

Underhill sits fourth in Stars’ rookie scoring with five points in 14 games. Since being elevated in the lineup to the left wing with Jackson Allan and Steven Kesslering, Underhill has two goals and three points over his last four games.

Ashtyn Shields – First goal, Nov. 12, 2022

Shields scored his first as the finishing touch on a 7-1 Stars’ victory over the Hawks in Nipawin, almost poetically to match his jersey #71.

“It was kind of a broken play and Underhill made an unreal move to beat a D-man to make it a breakout 2-on-1, then dished it over when the [other] D-man committed to him and I just buried it back on the far-side,” Shields said.

North Stars #71, Ashtyn Shields with his first goal puck. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Having played his AAA just 40 minutes down the road from Nipawin in Tisdale, Shields said it made the experience even more special.

“It was a super good feeling and I got to do it in front of some friends in Nipawin which was pretty cool,” he added. “The boys were super happy for me so I was pretty pumped too.”

In 12 games this year Shields has posted a goal and three points, providing energy, grit and spark to the Stars forward unit.

This concludes the North Stars’ first goal milestones from the first-half of the 2022-23 season. As the year progresses, and milestones continue to come, one thing is for sure: there’s nothing quite like scoring that first goal.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1

by Martin Martinson

North Stars reflect on first goal milestones (Part 2)

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