Things appear to have turned in the right direction for the Battlefords North Stars, as they earned their ninth, 10th and 11th wins of the season in a span of four days and are giving their fans an exciting brand of hockey to watch heading into the second half of the season.
The North Stars had that hot streak broke Sunday, when they hosted the Flin Flon Bombers for the first time this season at the Civic Centre.
After perfect goaltending by Graham Hildebrand and Flin Flon's P.J. Musico in the first period of action Sunday, the Bombers drew first blood in the second.
Devan Stillar scored twice in the second and once in the third for the hat trick while the North Stars responded with just one third-period goal off the stick of Chris Neurauter. Neurauter's fourth of the season was assisted by Cody Folstad and Boyd Wakelin on the powerplay.
Jesse Mychan added an empty net goal late in the third period for Flin Flon and the game ended 4-1.
Musico stopped 34 shots in the win while Hildebrand made 29 saves in the loss.
The Bombers were 1/4 on the powerplay while the hometown North Stars went 1/5.
One day earlier, as part of the North Stars parent/billets weekend, the North Stars wore pink jerseys against Weyburn in support of breast cancer research.
Kyle Birch was in net Saturday and was solid making 24 saves for his fourth win of the season.
Ten minutes into the game, the North Stars tallied the game's first goal, as Keith Grondin scored his team leading 18th of the season. The goal was scored on the powerplay with Neurauter and Colin Phaneuf drawing the assists.
Brock Appleyard evened the score before the intermission and, after 20 minutes, nothing was solved on the scoreboard.
Two minutes into the second, the North Stars reclaimed the lead. This time it was Shayne Morrissey netting his seventh of the season from Woody Klassen.
Minutes later, Shawn Cowie tied the game for Weyburn once again and the second period ended 2-2.
The North Stars took the lead for good nine minutes into the third period. Blake Tatchell scored his 13th of the season taking a 3-2 lead with the powerplay goal.
Late in the third period, Travis Cech added some insurance for the North Stars scoring his sixth of the season from Tanner Schwab.
Kyle Hall put his eighth of the season into an empty net and the North Stars took the 5-2 win.
As well as the North Stars played Saturday, that may not even have been the most exciting game in the past week. Thursday, the North Stars hosted Estevan for the first time this season.
A quick pass from behind the goal line in front of the net put Estevan in front with two minutes left in the first frame. Mark Cross was the goal scorer.
In the second period, the North Stars exploded with three goals - Rollins scored from Tony Oak, Grondin scored from Phaneuf and Brody Luhning scored from Wakelin and Phaneuf.
The North Stars held a 3-1 lead going into the third period, but the game was far from over at that point.
Six minutes into the period, Klassen scored on the powerplay from Grondin and Tatchell, putting the North Stars up 4-1.
Five minutes later, Estevan began their comeback charge. Kyle Johnson scored followed by Lucas Stubel and with 57 second on the clock and the goalie pulled, the Troy Hunter markertied the game for the Bruins.
Nearly 20 seconds later, former North Star Ryan Andersen scored putting his team in front.
The North Stars were forced to pull their goalie. A faceoff in the Estevan zone with 3.3 seconds was cleanly won back to the point to Klassen. He fired a shot through traffic and the desperation shot beat Shea Copper in the Estevan net and tied the game forcing overtime with .8 seconds left on the clock.
Both teams created chances in the overtime period, but it was Tatchell finally ending the game after taking a two-on-one pass from Grondin. Neurauter also had an assist on the game-winning goal.
Hildebrand made 36 saves for the win while his teammates were 1/5 on the powerplay. Estevan was 0/4 with the man advantage and Cooper faced 42 shots.
Not only did the North Stars entertain their fans Thursday, but they were entertained as well when looking in the stands at the Civic Centre. Thursday was the North Stars Ultimate iFan contest and first place and an iPad was won by Ashlyn Schwab for her creative costume and sign.
The North Stars looked to get back in the win column Tuesday, as they hosted the Humboldt Broncos at the Civic Centre. Coming up is seven straight road games beginning with La Ronge Thursday, Nipawin Friday and Flin Flon Saturday.
