North Stars captain Jake Southgate will make his return to the lineup Tuesday night versus La Ronge, after missing the last two games due to illness. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Back on home ice

North Stars host La Ronge for showdown of league’s elite

Jan 24, 2023 | 3:06 PM

The Battlefords North Stars return to action at the Access Communications Centre Tuesday, for their first home game in their last eight, and first since Jan. 6, as the La Ronge Ice Wolves come to town.

The North Stars (34-3-2-1) enter play in top spot of the league standings with 71 points, but will be looking for a quick bounce back from their first back-to-back losses of the season over the weekend with a pair of tight-to-the-finish defeats to Humboldt, 4-3 Friday and 4-2 Saturday night.

Head coach of the Stars, Brayden Klimosko said his team is looking forward to their quick return to action, following the weekend.

“You’ve got to be excited to be able to play right after a couple of difficult [outcomes] there, so we’re looking forward to tonight,” Klimosko said.

“It’s nice to be back home, obviously, and we’re looking for a strong bounce back. We haven’t seen a lot of adversity this year so it’ll be good to see how we bounce back from that.”

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The Ice Wolves (25-13-3-1) sit second overall, with their 54 points in 42 games just ahead of Humboldt (53 points, four games in hand), and Flin Flon (51 points, five games in hand) in the logjam for spots two-through-four in the league standings.

La Ronge enter play having won four of their last five, with their lone loss coming at the hands of the Stars, who took home a 4-3 overtime decision last Tuesday in La Ronge.

Stars forward Jackson Allan enters play Tuesday on a three-game point streak, with goals in back-to-back games. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

The North Stars will receive a shot in the arm Tuesday, with the return of three key pieces to their lineup.

Defenceman Tanner Gold will make his return from personal leave, while Jake Southgate and Zane Forence also rejoin their teammates, after missing time due to flu-like symptoms.

Gold, who has been one of the cornerstone pieces to the North Stars’ blue line all season, has 18 points in 33 games this year, in addition to his presence on the defensive end as one of the league’s elite matchup defencemen.

Southgate sits third in SJHL scoring this year with 55 points in 38 games, while Florence is tied for second on the team amongst defencemen, with 25 points in 36 games.

La Ronge are led into play by recently-named SJHL Defenceman of the Week, Liam McInnis. Coming off a five-point week (one goal, four assists) in four games, McInnis is now over a point-per-game on the season, with 15 points in 14 games this year.

In goal, the North Stars will hand the reigns to Josh Kotai to make his third consecutive start, after stopping 91/99 shots over the weekend in the Stars’ home-and-home with Humboldt.

In 29 games this year, Kotai is 24-2-2-1, with a league-best 2.24 goals against average and .939 save percentage.

La Ronge are likely to counter with Dawson Smith. Smith is coming off a 35-save effort in his team’s 3-2 overtime win over Notre Dame, Sunday. At 16-7-2-1 through 27 games, Smith sits second with a 2.42 goals against average and .934 save percentage.

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

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1