By Craig Stein
GRYZBOWSKI SHUTOUT, Q. LOON-STEWARDSON LEAD NORTH STARS
Quinton Loon-Stewardson scored 11:37 into overtime, the only goal of the game as the Battlefords North Stars sneak past the Yorkton Terriers 1-0 (OT) on Saturday night, and take a 2-0 lead in their Best-of-Seven Semi-Final series.
Joel Gryzbowski stopped all 40 shots he faced for his second shutout of these playoffs. He’s 6-1-2 in the playoffs with a 1.67 GAA and .952%.
Ryan Ouellette made 41/42 saves at the other end for the Terriers. Yorkton out-shot the Stars 36-31 in regulation, but it was all Stars in overtime, as they out-shot Yorkton 11-4 in the extra frame.
The series moves to Yorkton Tuesday and Wednesday for Games 3 and 4.
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While Carson Albrecht was often the set up man for Justin Ball and his 50+ goal campaign in the regular season, their roles have somewhat flipped so far in the playoffs, as Albrecht scored his league-leading 8th of the post-season, which stood as the winner as the Melfort Mustangs beat the Estevan Bruins 3-1 to take a 2-0 series lead.
Albrecht also had one assist, and has 8g-2a in the playoffs. Ball had one assist on the night, and has 4g-7a through seven post-season games. Nolan Kadachuk (1g-1a) and Tanner Zentner also scored for Melfort while Noah Giesbrecht was excellent again making 29/30 saves. Giesbrecht is a perfect 6-0 in the playoffs with a 1.83 GAA and .941%.
The Bruins opened the scoring but went on to lose for a second straight night as Jayden Davis got them on the board early in the second period after a scoreless first. Zentner tied it up 17 seconds later and Giesbrecht shut the door the rest of the way.
Grant Boldt made 22/25 saves in goal for the Bruins, who host Games 3 & 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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