Dylan Esau and his North Stars teammates will put their 2-0-1 record versus the rival Klippers on the line when the teams play the fourth game in their season-series Friday in Kindersley. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

On the road again

North Stars travel to Kindersley in search of third-straight win

Nov 12, 2021 | 4:35 PM

The Battlefords North Stars will return to action Friday in search of their third-straight win as the team will travel to Kindersley to take on the division-rival Klippers for the second time in the last week.

Team outlook

The Stars (12-6-2) topped the Klippers 3-1 Tuesday night in North Battleford, to move into third overall in the SJHL standings with 26 points on the season; just four points back of league-leading Humboldt.

Kindersley sit third in the division and sixth overall with 19 points, thanks to a 9-9-1 record. Despite Tuesday’s loss to the Stars, Kindersley has played some of their best hockey of late, with their loss to the Battlefords serving as just the team’s second regulation loss in their last nine games, dating back to mid-October (6-2-1 since Oct. 13).

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The North Stars will be without leading scorer, Jake Southgate Friday, who will miss his first game of the season for the Battlefords with an upper body injury.

First on the team with 11 goals and 22 points this season, Southgate’s absence will be big blow, although he is listed as just day-to-day and could return as early as tomorrow night for the team.

Steven Kesslering (20 points) and Dylan Esau (19 points), who sit second and third in team scoring, will again suit up alongside rookie Matthew Henry (eight points) on what will be the team’s top unit Friday.

Zane Florence, Emmett Wurst and Colby Bear will also elevate to a top-six role following a standout performance Tuesday, that saw the trio combine for two goals and four points in the team’s 3-1 win, as both Florence and Bear scored for the team.

Kindersley’s Tylin Hillbig remains the lone Klippers’ player to have hit double-digits in points this season with 14 points through 18 games.

Jaxon Georget, Noah Lindsay, Matthew Mazzocchi and blue liner Mark Snarr round out the team’s top five scorers with nine points apiece, each spread out among three separate forward lines (and the top defensive pair in the case of Snarr).

Special Teams

The North Stars hold a decisive edge on the power play, clicking at over 16 per cent (seventh in SJHL) to Kindersley’s 10 per cent (11^th).

However, Kindersley hold a clear edge on the penalty kill, where they have been effective on just over 80 percent of their kills (seventh in SJHL) to the Stars’ 74 percent (12^th).

Despite their struggles on the kill this season, the Stars look to be trending up, coming off a 4/4 billing Tuesday versus this Klippers’ offense.

Goaltending

Michael Harroch will get the start for the Stars Friday. Through his opening six games with the team, Harroch has been lights out, proving himself amongst the league’s best with a 3-1-1 record along with a sterling 2.64 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.

Kindersley will again turn to workhorse Matthew Pesenti. Pesenti has played 13 of his team’s opening 19 games, posting a 3.10 goals-against average and .903 save percentage.

The NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Hockey Broadcast will be available on 1050 CJNB. The Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin at 7 p.m., with puck drop at 7:30 p.m.

North Stars lineup

Forwards:

M. Henry, D. Esau, S. Kesslering

Z. Florence, E. Wurst, C. Bear

E. Scriven, R. McNinch, K. Klein

K.T. Walters, B. Blake, D. Prymak

Defencemen:

E. Rask, R. Little

S. Witt, T. Gold

T. Ewart, J. Grill

Goaltenders:

M. Harroch

L. Kenyon

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1