By Martin Martinson

Stars with lots to be thankful for heading into Thanksgiving

Oct 6, 2018 | 2:11 AM

The Battlefords North Stars will head into Thanksgiving long weekend on a high note after a big 4-2 win over the defending league champion Nipawin Hawks.

After a scoreless first period, it was the Hawks who struck first in front of their home crowd, lighting the lamp to open the scoring thanks to Jordan Simoneau’s second of the year. Hawks captain, Gage Misskey picked up the primary assist, while Austen Flaman extended his team scoring lead further to 10 points through his first nine games. The 18-year-old Emerald Park product, Flaman, has now scored at least a single point in eight of his nine games.

The towering, Simoneau, (6’5, 230lbs) who was involved in a monstrous collision with North Stars defenseman, Austin Shumanski, (6’5, 220lbs) that shook the ground and rumbled the capacity crowd at Centennial Arena, rebounded nicely just a shift later, slinging a wrister far side, beating the Stars’ goaltender to make the game 1-0.

Following the goal, the Hawks turned up the heat. That is until the Stars’ very heart and soul, veteran Owen Lamb, answered back for his team. Lamb’s response was by scoring a goal to completely turn the tide and shift momentum back in favour of the black, silver and white. After Tanner Scott’s shot from the point was blocked in front, Lamb picked up the puck, and while spinning around; all-in-one-motion, fired a shot past the defending Top Goaltender of the Year, Declan Hobbs.

Breathing renewed life into his squad, Lamb’s tally was followed just minutes later by a Star’s go-ahead goal, courtesy of Brett Gammer. The Edmonton, Alta native, Gammer, somehow managed to locate the loose biscuit through a maze of bodies and pucks, and deposit it following a strong power move to the front of the net by linemate, Ryan Gil. Gammer’s goal, while eliciting great excitement from his teammates on the North Stars’ bench, would come much to the dismay of the capacity crowd of Hawks’ fans in attendance at Centennial Arena. For Gammer, the goal marked his second in a North Stars’ uniform.

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The scoreboard read 2-1 North Stars at the conclusion of the second.

The score would remain a one-goal game until just shy of the eight-minute mark of the third, when Arik Breton potted a timely goal for the Home-side, drawing the game back even, at 2-2.

With time winding down in the third and under a half-a-period remaining in regulation with which to play, both sides were looking for a hero. The hero on this night would be Matthew Fletcher.

MacGregor Sinclair, picking up the puck and churning his way into the attacking zone was looking to make something happen. After his short side bid was denied by the left arm of the goalie, Hobbs, Sinclair remained determined, picking up the rebound, still in stride, to take with him behind the net. That’s when, at just the right moment and with eagle-eye precision, Sinclair delivered a perfect cross-seem pass on the tape for an encroaching Fletcher (as a right-hander on the right side) to catch and release like lightning over the netminder’s glove and into the top corner of the twine. The goal was Fletcher’s second of the season, and second in the last two games.  

Matthias Urbanski would put the icing on the cake at the 19:38 mark of the third. With the Hawks’ net empty and an extra attacker helping to press the issue offensively for the desperate Nipawin side in search of a goal in the proverbial eleventh hour, the Stars’ super-sophomore, Urbanski, who entered action tied atop the team lead in goals and points would take sole position of first on the team in goals, scoring a bar-down empty net goal.

Stars’ goaltender, Joel Grzybowski was once again the team’s best player on the ice, and likely the top player on either team, making 34 saves on 36 shots, including many of the highlight-reel variety.

The Stars will now get a full week off to rest up and recover from a gruelling and physical two-game series with the Hawks, before getting back into action Oct. 12 vs. Melville.

Scoring summary

First period:

No scoring

Second period:

3:41 NIP Jordan Simoneau (2) ASST: Gage Misskey (4), Austen Flaman

10:05 BAT Owen Lamb (4) ASST: Tanner Scott (3), Elijah Loon-Stewardson (3)

13:01 BAT Brett Gammer (2) ASST: None

Third period:

7:35 NIP Arik Breton (4) ASST: Jaxon Wiebe (2)

9:45 BAT Matthew Fletcher (2) ASST: MacGregor Sinclair (5)

19:38 BAT Matthias Urbanski (6) ASST: MacGregor Sinclair (6) (EN)

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1