The North Stars saw a strong performance from their captain Monday night, as Ryland McNinch scored a goal and added two assists, to factor in on each of his team's three goals. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Playoff Opponent Set

Stars fall 4-3 to Hounds in season finale, will play Flin Flon in Round 1

Mar 15, 2022 | 12:22 AM

It was a tight game right to the final buzzer Monday night, as the Battlefords North Stars fell 4-3 to the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox.

Serving as the teams’ regular season finale, and the final game on the SJHL slate, the night’s outcome also determined the Stars will finish fourth overall and play fifth-place Flin Flon in the opening round of the postseason.

Ryland McNinch had a goal and two assists for the Stars in the loss, while Jordan Grill and Sam Witt added a goal apiece as well, and goalie Austin Schwab stopped 33 of 37 to keep the team close throughout the night.

McNinch’s 17^th came on a quick forehand move in-tight, sandwiched between a pair of Kevin Anderson goals in the first to bring the Hounds captain to 30 goals on the year, and give his team a 2-1 lead at the first intermission.

Following two more back-to-back Hounds’ markers from Elliot Dutil and Jake Sacratini to stretch Notre Dame’s lead to 4-1 just under six minutes into the second, Grill’s fourth came jumping up in the rush to cut the Battleford’s defecit to 4-2 by the end of two periods.

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Immediate impact: Defenceman, Jordan Grill’s goal came in his first game back in the lineup after missing the last 12 due to injury. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Witt’s sixth of the year came shorthanded in the third with just under 3:30 to go in regulation time, but was as close as the Stars would come on the night. This, despite firing 46 shots on Notre Dame’s Ryley Osland, who made 43 saves for the win.

The Stars will hold home ice advantage in their opening round playoff series with the Flin Flon Bombers. The first two games of the series will be played this weekend at the Access Communications Centre in North Battleford, with Game 1 Friday, Mar. 18, and Game 2 Saturday, Mar. 19.

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

Scoring summary

First period:

5:08 ND Kevin Anderson (29) ASST: Connor Nolan (46), Will Dawson (14)

15:02 BAT Ryland McNinch (17) ASST: Sam Witt (21), Tanner Gold (5)

19:28 ND Kevin Anderson (30) ASST: Will Dawson (15)

Second period:

3:22 ND Elliot Dutil (37) ASST: Phil Fath (12), Antoine Saint-Onge (15)

5:56 ND Jake Sacratini (6) ASST: Connor Nolan (47), Nikolas Sombrowski (22)

13:31 BAT Jordan Grill (4) ASST: Ryland McNinch (24), Holden Doell (22)

Third period:

16:39 BAT Sam Witt (6) ASST: Ryland McNinch (25), Matthew Henry (12) (SH)

4-3 Hounds, the final

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1