Stars forward, Holden Doell has been a force of late, with eight goals and 14 points in his last six games, heading into play Friday versus the Broncos. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Reigniting Rivalry

North Stars host Broncos for battle of behemoths

Oct 28, 2022 | 2:22 PM

The Access Communications Centre will be electric Friday night for a heavyweight tilt on ice, as the league-leading Battlefords North Stars welcome the second-place Humboldt Broncos to town.

Marking the first installment of the season series, and first of a two-game home-and-home this weekend, both teams enter play red-hot through the early part of the season schedule.

The North Stars (14-0-1), have picked up at least a single point in each of their first 15 games, and are coming off a 7-2 win over Estevan Tuesday night, which saw seven different goal scorers chip in en route to victory.

The Broncos (12-2) sit just five points back of the Stars through their first 14 games and are coming off back-to-back wins over Nipawin and Yorkton. The Broncos have also scored 11 goals over their last two games.

North Stars head coach Brayden Klimosko said he expects a playoff-like intensity to the contest.

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“Both teams will be ready to go and I think it will be a great test for both,” Klimosko said. “It’s basically playoffs in October which will be exciting, and I think it will be more like what we’re going to see in February and March and [down the stretch], so our guys will need to be ready for a good test.”

The Stars and Broncos sit either first or second in the SJHL in nearly every team statistic.

The Battlefords’ +51 goal differential leads all, along with their 80 total goals, 5.33 goals per-game, 29 goals against, and 1.93 goals against per-game.

Humboldt’s +30 goal differential is second, along with their 5.0 scored per-game, while their 40 goals against and 2.86 against per-game rank third, trailing the Battlefords and Flin Flon.

The Stars feature three of the league’s top five scorers, with all three members of their top line amongst the league leaderboard.

Captain Jake Southgate’s 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) are tied for second overall in the scoring race, just two back of Estevan’s Kade Runke who has played four more games.

Holden Doell sits fourth in scoring with 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in just 11 games. Doell’s 1.82 points per game are the most in the league amongst players with at least 10 games played, while Kian Bell is tied for fifth in scoring with 10 goals and 19 points in 12 games.

Together the Stars’ trio have combined for 15 goals and 36 points in their last six games, as each of Southgate and Doell carry four-straight multi-point games into play Friday.

Humboldt’s Jacob Boucher leads the Broncos into action with 13 points through his first six games since joining the team from Vancouver of the Western Hockey League. Boucher is coming off back-to-back multi-point efforts with five points in his last two games.

Xavier Roy leads the visitors with 17 points through 14 games, while Ben Kotylak, Cage Newans, and Alec Saretzky each sit just back with 16 points apiece.

Roy’s 14 assists are also a team-best, while each of Kotylak, Newans and Saretzky enter play with three points over their last three games.

In goal, the North Stars will hand the reigns to Josh Kotai, who has been the benchmark for goaltending through the first several weeks of the season, still in his first year of SJHL play. The 19-year-old is 10-0-1 this season with a league-best 1.44 goals against average and .953 save percentage.

Humboldt are likely to give the start to Tristan Boileau. The 19-year-old has played 10 of his team’s first 14 games with a 7-2 record, 2.56 goals against average, and a .910 save percentage.

Friday’s game at the ACC 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. on the NAPA Auto Parts North Stars Broadcast.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1