Forward Brad Blake and his North Stars teammates will play Yorkton twice in the next two nights, before wrapping their roadtrip Saturday in Melville. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

First road trip

North Stars kick off three-game swing in Yorkton

Sep 28, 2023 | 2:00 PM

The Battlefords North Stars return to action on the road Thursday, for their first of three games in three nights, and first of two straight against the Yorkton Terriers.

The North Stars (1-1-0) are coming off a two-game split with Kindersley last weekend, having bested their rivals to the south 4-0 in their home opener, before falling 5-3 Saturday in the rematch.

The Terriers (1-0-1) are also coming off a series split last weekend, having topped Weyburn 3-2 in a shootout in their season opener, before the Red Wings answered back with a 1-0 overtime win of their own.

Through their opening two games, the North Stars have seen seven different players chip in with a goal apiece, including three with the first of their SJHL careers, in forward Brayden Sinclair and defencemen Carson Olsen and Josh Karman, the former two of whom scored just last game.

Yorkton have managed to secure three of a possible four points in the standings, despite having scored just two goals total through their first two games, not including Brett Butz’ shootout winner in their opener. The Terriers’ goals have come courtesy of two-year Alberta Junior League veteran, Jaron Desnoyers and rookie Anthony Domina, each with their first donning the Terriers’ crest.

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Both the Stars and Terriers are among the five teams still looking to break through on the power play for the first time, heading into Thursday’s contest. The Stars are 0/9 up-a-man heading into play while the Terriers are 0/10.

On the penalty kill, the Stars will be looking for a strong bounce-back after allowing four power-play goals against in last weekend’s loss to the Klippers, in a game otherwise largely dominated by the team. Yorkton are 9/10 on the kill, looking to continue their strong play so far while down a man.

In goal, North Stars’ netminder Joey Hawco will get the start, coming off a 29-save shutout in a debut performance last Friday he won’t soon forget. Hawco leads all at the position with a flawless 0.00 goals against average and 1.000 save percentage.

Yorkton is likely to give the tap to Caleb Allen at the other end. Allen has started both Terriers’ games so far, stopping 72 of his first 75 shots against for a 1.40 goals against average and .960 save percentage. No stranger to a heavy workload, Allen led all goaltenders with 45 games played last season, facing the most shots in the league (1552) and making the most saves (1391).

Thursday’s game is on 1050 CJNB, with the Ultra Print Pregame Show at 6:30 p.m. and puck drop to follow at 7 p.m. on the NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Hockey Broadcast.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1