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The North Stars play the Notre Dame Hounds on Oct. 16 and 17 at the Duncan McNeil Arena in Wilcox, Sask. (Battlefords North Stars/Facebook)
North Stars Week Preview

Chance for redemption against Notre Dame

Oct 15, 2024 | 12:04 PM

The Battlefords North Stars play two games this week against the Notre Dame Hounds on Wednesday, Oct. 16 and Thursday, Oct. 17 at the Duncan McNeil Arena in Wilcox, Sask.

This will be the second and third time the Hounds and North Stars will face off against each other this season. The first time they played was on Oct. 8, when the Hounds beat the North Stars 6-5 in overtime at the Access Communication Centre.

The Hounds current record sits at 2-7 on the season, with their only wins being over Nipawin and Battlefords.

Despite the loss in the first game, the North Stars did play well and had a 5-3 lead in the third period, but just couldn’t hold on to the lead.

The Hounds are being led by veteran forwards, Marko Djordjevic and Vincent Palmarin. Djordjevic is a third-year vet, who is currently tied for second in team points with three goals and four assists for seven points this season. Palmarin, who is a three-year vet as well, has two goals and four assists for six points in only five games played this season.

Other notable players for the Hounds so far have been rookies Neka Jean and Nick Beatty. Jean currently leads the team in points with one goal and nine assists on the season, while Beatty is tied in second for points with three goals and four assists so far.

For the North Stars, they have a hand full of players that have been big contributors like Elijah Anderson, Colton Getzlaff, Brett Boucher and Gavin Granger. But the most notable players have been Anthony Campbell, Nikita Ivashchenko and Rylan Williams. All three of whom are currently tied for first in team points with 10 and have had almost a point in every single game.

Third-year veteran and captain, Jackson Allan has also been vital to the team’s success so far as he currently leads the team in goals with five and is second in team points with nine.

North Stars Head Coach Martin Smith said that the team needs to keep things simple and use their speed against Notre Dame this week.

“Looking ahead to Notre Dame, we just need to keep things simple and just go about it the way we approach the other games and that’s playing with speed out there. There’s a bigger ice surface down in Wilcox, so you know, I’ll want the guys to use their speed, move the puck and create offensive opportunities off of good defence.”

The North Stars have also traded forward Kobie Anderson to the Fort Frances Lakers of the SIJHL in exchange for a player development fee.

Puck drop for both games against Notre Dame this week is 7:30 p.m.

Catch the games on CJNB/CJNS with the pre-game show starting at 7 p.m.

Austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes