The North Stars start the series against the Yorkton Terriers at the Westland Arena in Yorkton on Friday. (Image Credit: Byron Hildebrand Photography/Facebook)

By Ryan Lambert

Junior A Hockey

North Stars face Terriers in second round of SJHL playoffs

Mar 31, 2026 | 5:27 PM

After taking down the Melfort Mustangs in five games in the first round of the SJHL playoffs, the Battlefords North Stars now turn their attention to the Yorkton Terriers.

Unlike the first round, the third-seeded North Stars will not have home-ice advantage and will be in Yorkton to start the series against the second-place Terriers. 

Yorkton advanced to the second round after beating the Melville Millionaires in a Highway 10 rivalry. Yorkton won the series in six games. 

Offense has driven both teams this postseason, with five North Stars and four Terriers players tied among the league’s top five scorers.

North Stars’ Josh Knittig (5GP-4G-6A) and Terriers’ Gabriel Courchesne (6GP-2G-8A) are tied for the league lead with 10 points each. 

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Knittig’s two points per game average is first in the SJHL. 

North Stars captain Anthony Campbell (5GP-3G-6A) is tied for second with nine points, and Terriers defenceman Gavin Bartha (6GP-4G-4A) is in third with eight points. 

Terriers forward Jye Zawatsky (6GP-1G-6A) and North Stars’ Alessio Nardelli (5GP-4G-3A) have seven points each, which is tied for fourth. 

Tied for fifth, Terriers blueliner Thomas Ries (6GP-4G-2A), as well as North Stars forward Finlay Klippenstein and defenceman Linken Fisher (5GP-2G-4A) have six points apiece. Fisher’s most recent goal was the double overtime winner to send the North Stars into the second round. 

(Image Credit: SJHL.ca)

The North Stars have struggled against the Terriers this year, with a 1-3-0-0 record, but head coach Connor Logan isn’t overly concerned.

“When those games were played against Yorkton, one was on the back end of a big stretch of winning for us at home…the time before that was the beginning of a transition period for us where we made a lot of adjustments to our roster,” said Logan.  

“We feel confident about our team. We feel confident about the matchup. It’s just going out there and executing better than them and coming up big.” 

Logan mentioned that out of all the teams in the league, he finds that the North Stars and Terriers have a very similar style of play.

“If you look at their top line, their transition is good. They have two D, much like ourselves, that are high point getters…Bartha and Ries…they use their back end to try to generate, which is a lot like us.” 

During the regular season, Logan said he thought the Terriers did a good job beating them in the transition game.

“I just didn’t think we made the appropriate adjustments that we needed to make then, but we’re ready to make them now.” 

The North Stars head to Yorkton on April 3 for Game 1 of the second round. 

(Image Credit: SJHL.ca)

Last time the North Stars faced the Terriers in the playoffs was in 2019, when they swept Yorkton in the second round en route to an SJHL championship.

The puck drops for Napa Auto Parts North Stars hockey at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Ultra Print pregame show begins half an hour before puck drop on CJNB/CJNS. 

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Ryan.Lambert@pattisonmedia.com