The Battlefords North Stars do what the Battlefords North Stars tend to do regularly, it seems. The Stars erased a 2-1 third period deficit by blowing the doors off the Civic Centre with five consecutive markers in beating the Melfort Mustangs 6-2 on Friday night for their fifth straight win. Zach Anderson made it 2-1 Melfort 1:17 into the third, but Noah Form tied it at 2:28 and then 18-seconds later Matthias Urbanski put the Stars in front with his second of three on the evening. Quintin Loon-Stewardson put an end to any comeback hopes just past the midway point and then Urbanski capped the hat trick a little over a minute after that and Kaden Boser finished the scoring at 17:47. Kyle Bosch had Melfort’s other goal. The Mustangs are five points behind Yorkton for the three seed in the standings and have four games in hand.
Meanwhile, Flin Flon won for the fourth time in a row in a see saw affair with the Nipawin Hawks. The Bombers blew a 2-0 lead and trailed 4-2 before going ahead 6-4 at the end of two. Riley Bruce got his first as a Hawk to bring Nipawin to within one, but Mason Martin sealed it with a drifting shot from the point, on the powerplay, at 12:36 of the third. Martin and Billy Klymchuk each scored two times on the night. Alec Malo added a goal and two assists. Other markers came from Troy Quinn and Hayden Clayton. Jake Tremblay, Jordan Simoneau, Andrew Schaab, and Caden Benson also scored for the Hawks, who lost in regulation for the first time in seven games. Flin Flon has an 8-point lead over Melfort atop the division and 10-points ahead of Nipawin now and the Hawks have played three more games than the Bombers.
Estevan got a goal and three assists from Eddie Gallagher as they defeated Notre Dame 6-2. The Bruins are two points out of seventh with two games in hand on the Humboldt Broncos. They are five back of sixth place Nipawin with two games in hand despite being twelve points behind Yorkton, they have five games in hand but are on a 6-1-and-1 run in their last eight. It was a 3-2 game until the Bruins reeled off three straight in the third period thanks to Cody Davis, Gallagher, and Dain Sardelli (in the final moments). Brady Nicholas, Troy Hamilton, and Tyler Savage also had goals for the Bruins as they got markers from six different skaters. Jared Hamm had both for the Hounds, who are eight points back of Estevan for the final playoff spot and they’ve played two extra games than the Bruins.
Weyburn used a big third period to pull away from Humboldt and win 7-3. The game was tied at 2 after forty minutes, but the Wings connected for three powerplay goals and two empty netters with Sebastien Eger and Nikolas Sombroski each getting a brace. Dante Ballarin scored once and enjoyed a three point night. Other goals came from Kabir Gill and Jake Misskey. Weyburn is within five of Estevan for the final playoff spot but have played two extra games. They trail Humboldt by nine but have played one less game. The Red Wings will play four straight to finish the month on the road and then in February have two remaining with the Bruins and one with the Broncos. Logan Kurki had two (one an unusual empty netter in the second period) and Karter McNarland one in this game for the Broncos.
Melville at Kindersley was postponed due to bus issues, mechanically. Originally, it was hoped the game could begin at 8pm but was called off this afternoon when it was apparent the Mils wouldn’t make it to town in time.
