Stars' blue liner, Tynan Ewart leads all defensemen with 20 points in 20 games heading into play, Saturday. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Saturday Night Hockey

North Stars look for quick bounce back in Nipawin

Nov 12, 2022 | 2:30 PM

Coming off an OT heartbreaker in La Ronge Friday, the Battlefords North Stars will have a chance to get right back on the horse Saturday night in Nipawin, in their first game of the season series versus the Nipawin Hawks.

The North Stars enter play with a league-best 17-0-2-1 record, as the lone team in Canada to hit the 20-game threshold of the season without a regulation loss.

The Hawks are fourth in the Sherwood Division, and seventh overall, with an 8-9-1-1 record through their first 19. The team is coming off three straight wins, including most recently a 5-4 shootout victory over Kindersley less than 24 hours ago.

Saturday’s game will feature a showdown of the league’s top two goal scorers, and five of the top 10.

Hawks’ forward Maguire Ratzlaf leads all players with 16 goals in 19 games, followed closely by Stars’ standout and defending SJHL MVP of the Week, Kian Bell who has 15 in 17.

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Ratzlaf has three goals over his last three games, while Bell has four in his last three.

Stars forward Steven Kesslering is tied for sixth in league goals with 11 in 18 games, while Keiton Klein and Holden Doell are two of six players tied for eighth in goal scoring with 10 apiece.

The Stars do hold a slight advantage in special teams’ play this year, with a 25.7 percent success rate on the power play (second) and 84.1 percent on the kill (fourth). Nipawin are 20.9 percent on the power play (fourth), while their 80.2 percent PK ranks sixth.

In goal, Justen Maric will make his fifth start for the Battlefords. Maric is 4-0 this year with a 2.50 goals against average and .932 save percentage.

Nipawin are likely to give the start to veteran, Jackson Fellner. In three games since joining the Hawks from Melfort, Fellner has two wins with a 2.53 goals against average and .914 save percentage.

Saturday’s game will be available on 1050 CJNB. A bit of an earlier start than usual, the Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin at 6:30 p.m., with puck drop at 7 p.m.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1