North Stars forward Jackson Allan on the face-off against Melfort's Ben Tkachuk this season. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Series outlook

North Stars host Mustangs for Game 1 of semi-finals

Mar 31, 2023 | 12:51 PM

The Battlefords North Stars kick off Game 1 of their SJHL semi-finals series with the Melfort Mustangs Friday night on home ice at the Access Communications Centre.

Team outlook

The top-seeded North Stars enter the semis, coming off a five-game series victory over the eighth-place Weyburn Red Wings in the quarterfinals, that saw the team rebound quickly from a Game 1 loss, to win four straight to take the series, outscoring the Wings 21-10 over the five games.

The fourth-seeded Mustangs topped the fifth-seeded La Ronge Ice Wolves in six games, coming back from 1-0 and 2-1 series deficits on their way to three straight wins to close things out. The team came up especially large in the clutch, where the Mustangs won two of the three overtime games in the series.

The North Stars won four of their five matchups with Melfort during the regular season, though three of the five meetings went to overtime.

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Head coach of the Stars Brayden Klimosko said heading into Game 1 of the semi-finals matchup, he’s expecting a lot more of the same with a tight series throughout.

“It should be another great matchup, I think the teams match up well against each other, and it should be lots of fun,” Klimosko said. “Should be some close games, some intense games, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Offence

The North Stars are led by the league’s most dynamic foursome of Jake Southgate (10 points), Holden Doell (nine points), Kian Bell (eight points), and Steven Kesslering (seven points), who sit 1-2-3-4 in league playoff scoring, after becoming the first quartet of teammates to finish top four in SJHL scoring at the end of the regular season as well.

Bell won SJHL MVP and Player of the Year honours with a league-high 102 points (54G, 48A) in 51 games this season, followed closely by Doell’s 100 in 49 games (33G, 67A), then Southgate’s 82 (25G, 57A), and Kesslering’s 69 (40G, 29A), each in 54 contests.

Melfort is led offensively by their two-headed monster down the middle of the ice of Ben Tkachuk (five points), and Zac Somers (six points) through the first round of action.

Tkachuk, the Mustangs’ captain, finished ninth in league scoring at the end of the season with a team-high 56 points (16G, 40A) in 45 games. He was followed closely by winger Dawson Leroux’s 54 points (22G, 32A) in 54 games, and Somers’ 52 (26G, 26A) in 49.

First-year phenom Riley Ashe is another of the Mustangs’ players to watch, as the SJHL’s Rookie of the Year tallied 38 points (eight goals, 30 assists) in 54 games, while providing skill, spark, and playmaking acumen from the wing position.

Defence

The North Stars and Mustangs also feature two of the premier two-way defense cores in the league.

The Stars scored an SJHL-best 218 points from the blue line this season, followed by Melfort’s 180 points which were second. For perspective, Humboldt had the third-most points from their defense with 163, a staggering 17 behind.

The Mustangs slightly edge the Stars in goals from their defensemen, with 49 to the Stars’ 48, though again the teams are in a league of their own, as Notre Dame was third with 38, a full 10 goals back.

The Battlefords were the lone team in the league this season to have four defensemen hit the 30-point plateau, lead by the SJHL’s Top Defenceman Tynan Ewart’s 56 points in 55 games, while Zane Florence (31 points), Tanner Gold (30 points) and Jordan Gibbs (30 points) also hit the mark.

Melfort counter with the only blue line trio to hit double-digits in goals, as Kevin Minnoch (13G, 43 points), Leyton Holoien (10G, 39 points) and Hayden Tuba (10G, 35 points) were three of the top five in defencemen goal scoring at the end of the season.

Goaltending

In goal, the teams will also feature an elite matchup, as Top Goaltender, Josh Kotai for the North Stars will face off against Melfort’s Joel Favreau.

Kotai led the league in wins (32), goals against average (2.39), and save percentage (.935) through the regular season; while Favreau won 14 of his 29 games, and finished third in goals against average (2.56) and tied for fourth in save percentage (.913).

Through the first round of the playoffs, Kotai is 4-1 with a 2.01 goals against and .934 save percentage. Favreau is 4-1-1 with a 2.07 goals against and .922 save percentage.

Special teams

The Mustangs do hold a slight edge in special teams’ play through the first round of the post-season, heading into Round 2. The Mustangs’ are clicking at just over 23 percent on the power play (third), to the North Stars’ 22 percent (fourth).

On the penalty kill, the Mustangs’ 87 percent efficiency (second) also leads the Stars’ 83 percent (tied-third), though the Battlefords did close their first-round series successful on each of their last 11 kills.

Broadcast information

Friday’s Game 1 will be available on 1050 CJNB, with the Ultra Print Pregame Show at 7 p.m. and puck drop to follow at 7:30 p.m. on the NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Hockey Broadcast.

The full series schedule can be found here.

In other SJHL semi-finals action Friday, the #2 Humboldt Broncos will host the #3 Flin Flon Bombers for Game 1 of their series in Humboldt. The Broncos are coming off a five-game series victory over Nipawin, while the Bombers topped Estevan in seven games to punch their ticket to the semis.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1