The Battlefords North Stars had another comeback bid fall short in a 5-3 loss to the Yorkton Terriers on Saturday. (Image Credit: Ryan Lambert/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Ryan Lambert

north stars drop third straight

Zawatsky hat trick leads to North Stars 5-3 loss vs the Yorkton Terriers

Jan 31, 2026 | 11:46 PM

After starting off 2026 with an 11-game point streak, the Battlefords North Stars have gone cold in their most recent stretch, dropping their third straight game to the Yorkton Terriers on the road. 

Yorkton got on the board quick when Jye Zawatsky took a pass from Gabriel Courchesne and scored on the backhand past Spencer Michnik to make it 1-0 Terriers just 1:23 into the game. 

At the 10:36 mark, Zawatsky got his second tally of the game, electing for a shot on a 2-on-1 and scoring low-glove to make it 2-0. The Terriers outshot the North Stars 18-6 in the first period and took the two-goal lead into the intermission. 

After one: 2-0 Terriers 

Zawatsky completed the hat trick just 4:18 into the second frame. His 19th goal of the season gave Yorkton a 3-0 lead. 

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Just over two minutes later at 6:20, William Leonard scored his team leading 26th goal of the season when the puck bounced off the end boards and he slid it past Michnik. After allowing four goals on 21 shots, the North Stars goaltender was pulled for the game, and Kaeden Serpa entered the game in relief. 

At 14:16, Carter Geysen got the first goal of the game for the North Stars, taking a pass in front from Owen Nelson and scoring top shelf to cut the lead to 4-1. 

The North Stars continued to chip away in the second period. At 16:51 on the penalty kill, Anthony Campbell found Alex Coventry in the slot. Coventry slid the puck over to Josh Knittig who tapped it in to make it 4-2 for the North Stars league-leading 13th shorthanded goal of the season. 

Yorkton responded right away on the same powerplay. At 17:09, Vinay Junek walked in on the left side before firing the puck past Serpa to restore the three-goal lead at 5-2 to close out the period. 

After two: 5-2 Terriers 

After most of the third period passed without a single goal from either side, Cole Hines deflected in a point shot with less than two minutes to go at 18:13. The North Stars had the goalie pulled for the rest of the game, but couldn’t get another one on the board and fell for their third straight loss. 

Final score: 5-3 Terriers 

The North Stars are back in action on Feb. 3 when they face off with the Humboldt Broncos at home trying to avoid dropping four-straight games. 

The Ultra Print pregame show will start at 7:00 on Tuesday. Napa Auto Parts North Stars hockey starts at 7:30 on CJNB/CJNS. 

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Ryan.Lambert@pattisonmedia.com