By Martin Martinson

North Stars finish preseason on a high note

Sep 9, 2018 | 8:26 AM

The Battlefords North Stars wrapped up their preseason over the weekend, with back-to-back home games against the La Ronge Ice Wolves.

After a bit of a shaky start, with losses to Bonnyville on Sept. 1 and 2, and in the rookie game against Kindersley Monday, the North Stars bounced back to close out the exhibition season with a convincing 5-1 win over the La Ronge Ice Wolves Friday night, followed up by a 8-2 thrashing of the same club Saturday.

“We were a lot more disciplined the last couple games and we’ve seen success because of it,” coach Brayden Klimosko said. “Hopefully we keep doing that because if you stay out of the box you have a chance to win every night.”

Although preseason victories don’t have any effect on the standings, Klimosko said it’s good for team morale to get in a couple of wins.

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“It’s a work in progress; we’ve got some young kids, but it was good to see that the guys stepped up this week and we got a lot out of them,” he said.

When camp first opened, there were just over 80 players vying for a spot on the roster, a number Klimosko and his staff managed to narrow down to about 40 for the black and white intrasquad game. From there, the process continued, as day-by-day, the number of hopefuls was slowly chipped down to the 25 players now left at camp. Kimosko admitted it has been a “long process with some sleepless nights,” but “it’s been fun so far.”

Though Klimosko said some tough decisions will be made this week before the regular season gets underway, he’s very pleased with not only the on-ice product but character shown off the ice.

While there will be a number of new faces in the lineup, Klimosko believes the incoming youth are in good hands when it comes to being able to lean on the core of returning players.

“You’ve got guys like Sinclair, Urbanski, and Spagrud, and guys like Buziak and Lamb and that’s a good core of guys right there to start to build a team,” he said. “Guys that have won before and have been on championship teams.”

Klimosko is grateful for the leadership he’s seen from his veterans, too.

“To have guys like that back in the locker room for another year, it makes my job easier at times,” he said. “They’re just willing to learn and get better every day, so it’s been a fun process to be a part of working with those guys.”

The Battlefords North Stars will kick off their regular season Friday at 7:30 at home against the Kindersley Klippers. 

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1