Colby Bear and his North Stars teammates will return to play Sunday for a heavy-weight tilt with the rival, Bombers. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Rivalry reniewed

North Stars look to avenge Bombers, in home game matinee

Feb 20, 2022 | 2:00 PM

Nothing says rivalry game day, like a cool Sunday afternoon.

The Battlefords North Stars will return to action Sunday, for an earlier-than-usual contest at 4 p.m., against likely the team’s biggest rival outside the division, the Flin Flon Bombers.

Team outlook

The North Stars (27-15-6) enter play fifth in the league standings with 60 points, just five back of third-place Flin Flon (31-15-3; 65 points), while holding a pair of games in-hand.

The Stars will be looking to avenge a pair of back-to-back losses at the hands of the Bombers just last weekend in Flin Flon. The first two games of the season series, last Friday’s game was a 4-0 Bombers’ final, while Saturday was a 6-3 decision.

Freedom and Flexibility

How App-Based Work Creates Economic Opportunity

Dec 12, 2025

Riderville

Now for the Hard Part

Dec 10, 2025

Seniors Scene

Christmas is Coming

Dec 09, 2025

Since then however, the North Stars have bounced back to win two of the three games on their southern swing, defeating both Estevan and Weyburn, before a tight loss to Notre Dame, 4-2 on the final stop.

Flin Flon will be hungry to bounce back in their own right, after dropping their last three games, including most recently a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Melville Friday, and 4-3 loss to Yorkton Saturday.

Players to watch

Featuring no shortage of star power, the Bombers (3.65) and Stars (3.55) sit third and fourth overall in goals per-game, heading into action.

Featuring a number of prominent matchups, among them will be a pair of the league’s elite on the left-wing, in Jake Southgate and Zak Smith; and on the blue line, with Tynan Ewart and Xavier Lapointe.

Southgate (5’11, 175 lbs) leads the Battlefords with 20 goals and 46 points on the year, while Smith (6’3, 190 lbs) has picked up 17 goals and 44 points to best the Bombers.

On the backend, Flin Flon’s Lapointe leads all defencemen in scoring with 43 points, while Ewart sits just a single point back of third, with 29 for the Stars on the season. In addition to their offense, both also being heavily relied upon to play all situations for their teams, and contribute at both ends of the ice.

Special teams

Siting first (Flin Flon) and third (Battlefords) overall on the power play, clicking at 24 and 22 percent, Sunday’s game could be decided by the lethal special teams.

On the penalty kill, each team has struggled at times throughout the season, as the Bombers hold a slight edge at 80 percent on the kill, to the Stars’ 79 percent.

Goaltending

Both clubs will be without their starting goaltenders Sunday, as both Michael Harroch of the Stars and Cal Schell of the Bombers left their last game due to injury, following net-drive collisions.

The Stars will turn to Lowen Kenyon in goal, who stopped 35 of 39 in his last outing, against the Bombers last Friday. In nine games this season, Kenyon is 4-2-1, with a 2.16 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.

At the other end, Flin Flon is likely to tap Ben Montgomery. In seven games, Montgomery has posted a 3-3-1 record with a 2.67 goals-against and .911 save percentage.

The NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Hockey Broadcast will be available on 1050 CJNB. The Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin at 3:30 p.m., with puck drop to follow at 4 p.m.

North Stars lineup

Forwards:

J. Southgate, D. Prymak, C. Bear

E. Wurst, D. Esau, S. Kesslering

Z. Florence, R. McNinch, K. Klein

M. Henry, B. Blake, T. Bahm

Defencemen:

W. Steele, R. Little

S. Witt, T. Gold

T. Ewart, E. Rask

Goaltenders:

L. Kenyon

A. Schwab

—

Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1