North Stars' centreman Ben Portner tangles up with Hawks' forward Chase Visser as the two come together on a face-off, Saturday night. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Home-and-home concludes

Stars settle for weekend split, as Hawks answer back on night two

Oct 8, 2023 | 12:04 AM

Coming off a 3-0 win in Nipawin to open the weekend Friday, the Battlefords North Stars fell 3-1 to the Hawks on night two of the teams’ home-and-home this weekend, Saturday night in North Battleford.

The loss comes despite firing 35 shots at the opposition goal, as Hawks’ goalie Damon Cunningham stopped all 34 he faced for the win, with the lone Stars’ tally coming against backup Tyson Endall while Cunningham was out of the game for a brief three-minute stretch getting looked at after making a quick cross-crease save.

Defenseman Ronan Buckberger and forward Eric Hoiness gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead by the first intermission with a goal apiece in the opening frame, as Nipawin outshot the Stars early, by an 11-7 margin.

Carson Olsen’s second of the season cut the Stars’ deficit in half at 2-1 early in the second, firing home a laser beam from the top of the right circle, though ultimately that would mark the lone goal for his team on the night.

Ronan Buckberger added his second of the game, off a set-up by his elder brother Braxton, with just under four minutes to go in the second. Providing the Hawks an insurance marker at 3-1, it’s a lead they would take to the finish line despite some excellent pressure from the Battlefords as the game went along.

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The Stars fired 18 shots on the Nipawin goal in the third period alone, in their push to come back in the contest. However, even a full two minutes of sustained pressure with the extra attacker late was not be enough to break through against the Hawks’ air-tight goaltending and bend-but-not-break defensive effort on this night.

Opposite Cunningham, Stars’ goalie Justen Maric stopped 27/30 Hawks’ shots to keep his team right in the game through to the final horn.

Despite the loss, the North Stars do split their weekend home-and-home series with the Hawks at a game apiece, now sitting 3-4-0 through their opening seven games of the season.

The North Stars will now get the better part of a week off, before returning to action next weekend for a home-and-home with the La Ronge Ice Wolves.

Friday’s game will be in North Battleford, with Saturday’s in La Ronge. The NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Broadcast will be available Friday on 93.3 Beach Radio (due to the Riders’ game on CJNB), and Saturday on 1050 CJNB. The Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin both nights at 7 p.m. with puck drop to follow at 7:30 p.m.

Scoring summary

First period:

5:47 NIP Ronan Buckberger (2) ASST: Vito Biondo III, Eric Hoiness 1-0 NIP

11:56 NIP Eric Hoiness (3) ASST: Braxton Buckberger 2-0 NIP

Second period:

6:03 BAT Carson Olsen (2) ASST: Jordan Grill, Tanner Gold 2-1 NIP

16:10 NIP Ronan Buckberger (3) ASST: Braxton Buckberger, Evan Forrest 3-1 NIP

Third period:

No scoring

3-1 NIP, the final

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1