North Stars neat Nipawin 6-1 to get their first win of the season (Battlefords North Stars/Facebook)

By Austin Mattes

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Sep 29, 2024 | 1:37 PM

The Battlefords North Stars beat the Nipawin Hawks 6-1 on Saturday at the Access Communications Centre to grab their first win of the season.

The North Stars struck first in the opening frame with a goal from Elijah Anderson to take a 1-0 lead. This was the first time Battlefords opened the scoring and taken the lead this season.

The North Stars kept the one-goal lead heading into the second where the Hawks came out putting on some pressure. After some good looks, they were able to get themselves on the board with a goal from Van Taylor to pull Nipawin back to even.

Both teams had some power play chances in the second period to try and take the lead but with neither team converting, it went to the third period all tied up.

The third period was all North Stars and they took no time to get things started, scoring in the first 4 minutes of the period with a goal from Anthony Campbell to go up 2-1.

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Once Battlefords took the lead, the floodgates opened and they didn’t let up. The North Stars scored two more times just after the eight-minute mark of the frame, coming from Braden Nienaber on a 2-on-1 opportunity and the other from Rylan Williams on a shorthanded breakaway.

Now leading 4-1, the North Stars stayed on the gas and piled on the goals, getting one from Treycen Wuttunee and another from Kobie Anderson on the power play to take the game 6-1 over the Hawks.

Overall, this was the most complete game the North Stars have played so far this season. It was a great showing of the team’s offensive ability and chemistry as there were 12 different point getters throughout the game. This was also the team’s best defensive effort as they did a great job breaking up rushes and only allowed Nipawin to get one goal.

The North Stars outshot Nipawin 39-26, went 1/4 on the power play and stopped the Hawks both times on the penalty kill.

One of the most notable performances was North Stars rookie netminder Connor Baumbach who made some crucial saves and stopped 25/26 shots in his junior hockey debut.

North Stars Captain, Jackson Allan said the win showed the true character and abilities of this year’s team.

“It goes to show how resilient our team is and what type of guys we have. We have a good team and you know if you look at last weekend, obviously we drop a couple, but we showed tonight how good we really are and I’m really proud of our group to step up.”

North Stars coach Owen Lamb said that he is happy with the team’s performance and is already looking forward to the next game.

“Really proud of the guys tonight, they continued to get better as the game went on and never let off the gas. Getting that first win is always a big one. We will continue to work throughout the week and start preparing for La Ronge next weekend!”

The North Stars are now set to welcome the La Ronge Ice Wolves for a two-game set at the Access Communications Centre next weekend.

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austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes