The Battlefords North Stars are enjoying a season for the books this year, as the team recorded their 15th straight win and 22nd victory in 23 games this year Saturday night in Nipawin. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Stars top Hawks

Stars soar to 15th straight win in 5-1 grounding of Hawks

Nov 10, 2019 | 1:12 AM

The Battlefords North Stars claimed their 15^th straight win Saturday night, as the team defeated the Nipawin Hawks 5-1 at Centennial Arena to improve to 22-1 on the season.

Austin Becker (one goal, two assists) and Rylan Nivon (three assists) each pitched in three points on the night, while Quintin Loon-Stewardson scored a pair, and Noah Form and Matthias Urbanski added a single apiece to lead the Stars to victory.

Goaltender Austin Schwab also put forth an outstanding performance for the North Stars, stopping 31 of 32 shots on the night to claim the win.

With another lights out performance Saturday, Stars’ goaltender Austin Schwab improves to a perfect 4-0 this season. The 18-year-old has a shimmering 1.73 goals-against average and .940 save percentage this season. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Perhaps most impressive about the 18-year-old goalie’s play on the evening, was his ability to bounce back quickly and rebound from early adversity.

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Nipawin opened the scoring on their first shot of the night, courtesy of a quick release off a rush chance by Hawks’ forward, Carson Erhardt.

Erhardt’s eighth of the season, the goal came at the 50 second mark of the first period. The tally rose the hometown Nipawin crowd to their feet, excited for their team’s fast start.

But before the fans were warm back in their seats, the Stars had struck back with one of their own.

Coming during four-on-four play, Austin Becker made it a 1-1 game at the 4:41 mark of the frame, wiring home his 12^th of the season off a feed to the slot from Rylan Nivon.

The goal served as the first of three points on the night for Becker, as the Wisconsin Wonder would also set up his team’s go-ahead marker just over a minute later to give the Battlefords the lead.

Noah Form scored the go-ahead goal with his fifth of the season, coming on a Stars’ power play.

After picking up a pass up at the point, Form walked his way down the left side boards to the side of the Hawks’ goal, before feeding the puck out front. Form’s feed then caught the goalie unaware only to slip in off his pad and into the goal to make it 2-1 Stars.

Matthias Urbanski made it 3-1 just under two minutes later. Entering play red-hot, having registered two goals the night prior, Urbanski fired home a shot from the slot to give his team an insurance tally.

Dace Prymak found Urbanski in front for the goal. Dishing a gorgeous saucer pass over a stick and through a pair of legs onto Urbanski’s tape, Urbanski then made no mistake, slamming home his 11^th of the year.

Still not done, the Battlefords’ first period scoring surge only concluded after Quintin Loon-Stewardson joined the action, depositing his first of the night on a tip play at the side of the Hawks’ goal.

Deflecting home a Jordan Gagnon point shot, past the goalie and in for his team-leading 16^th of the campaign, Loon-Stewardson’s goal made it 4-1 Stars by the end of the first.

In the second, Loon-Stewardson then officially capped the scoring on the night as well, at the 7:39 mark of the period with his second of the evening. This time Loon-Stewardson’s marker came converting a Nivon feed for his 17^th of the season to stretch the lead further to 5-1.

While Loon-Stewardson’s second would finish off the night’s scoring, there was still plenty of action to come in the back half of the contest.

A physical bout throughout the night, tensions boiled over midway through the middle frame, after Stars’ forward, Kaden Boser was run from behind by Hawks’ defenceman, Luke Penner.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Battlefords’ product, Logan Spence stepped in to answer for his teammate by shedding off the mitts in a fight with the burly defender.

Then, later in the frame, came a similar turn of events. After Nivon was crunched along the side boards by Nipawin blue liner, Jack Lenchyshyn, Quintin Loon-Stewardson also answered the bell for a teammate.

Loon-Stewardson dropped the gloves with the veteran Lenchyshyn, adding a five-minute fighting major and game misconduct to his two-goal performance on the night.

In the Nipawin goal, recently-acquired Hawks’ goaltender, Dalton Dosch was pulled after allowing three goals on the North Stars’ first three shots on the night.

Playing just 7:32 of the first period, the goalie was then replaced by fellow 20-year-old, Ethan Slobodian who stopped 30 of 32 shots in relief.

Following the win, the North Stars will now get the rest of the weekend and early part of next week off, before returning to action Wednesday night at the Civic Centre against the Yorkton Terriers.

Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on 1050 CJNB. The Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin at 7:15 p.m. with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. on NAPA North Stars Hockey.

Scoring summary

First period:

0:50 NIP Carson Erhardt (8) ASST: Michaael Makarenko (9), Bronson Adams (4)

4:41 BAT Austin Becker (12) ASST: Rylan Nivon (19)

5:53 BAT Noah Form (5) ASST: Austin Becker (14), Matthew Fletcher (22) (PP)

7:32 BAT Matthias Urbanski (11) ASST: Dace Prymak (5), Noah Form (11)

14:48 BAT Quintin Loon-Stewardson (16) ASST: Jordan Gagnon (1), Rylan Nivon (20)

Second period:

7:39 BAT Quintin Loon-Stewardson (17) ASST: Rylan Nivon (21), Austin Becker (15)

Third period:

No scoring

5-1 North Stars, the Final.

—

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1