The Battlefords Beaver Blues and Glaslyn North Stars will face off for the deciding game of their first round SPHL playoff series in Battleford, Wednesday night. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Winner advances to semis

Beaver Blues host Glaslyn for pivotal Game 3 in Battleford

Feb 14, 2024 | 1:51 PM

It may be Valentine’s Day, but there will be no love lost on the ice Wednesday night when the Battlefords Beaver Blues and Glaslyn North Stars clash for the third-and-deciding game of their first round Saskatchewan Prairie Hockey League playoff series, at Battleford Arena.

The season is on the line for both teams heading into play, as the winner will advance to the league semi-finals to play the top-seeded Neilburg Monarchs, while the other will see their season come to an end.

Glaslyn won the opening game of the series Saturday in Battleford, taking home a 5-2 victory, led by a two-goal, one-assist performance from Regan Yew, while defenceman Tyler Gamble and forward Darren Delainey also pitched in with a goal and two points apiece.

North Stars’ goaltender Jackson Pylypow and Beaver Blues’ forward Blake Oborowsky will be among the players to watch heading into play Wednesday night. Pylypow has started each of his team’s first two playoff games, while Oborowsky is coming off a two-goal outing in Game 2. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Not to be outdone, the Beaver Blues responded with an 8-5 win of their own in Game 2 in Glaslyn the following night. Battlefords’ captain Kevin Bendall netted a pair of goals and an assist in the win, with Blake Oborowsky (two goals), Mason Russell (one goal, one assist), and Josh Shynkaruk (three assists) also contributing multi-point efforts.

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Shynkaruk said heading into Game 3, the key to a second straight win will be to continue to limit Glaslyn’s time and space through the middle of the ice.

“I think the biggest thing in Game 2 was just shutting them down in the neutral zone,” he said. “It was a lot more physical of a game than Saturday night, and we’ll have to keep doing that in order to win Game 3 because their first line, and even their second line, are so skilled so we have to shut them down right away.”

At the other end, as Glaslyn aim for a quick bounce back, forward B.J. Carey said the most important thing for the team will be putting together a full and consistent 60-minute effort.

“We’ve got to play our game, and our game is using the body and capitalizing on our chances,” Carey said. “In Game 2 we started that way, but we quit playing our game and started checking with our sticks instead of our body and we gave up two shorthanded goals. Come the playoffs that doesn’t work. You have to capitalize, and you have to take advantage of your power plays.”

Wednesday’s game in Battleford will begin at 8:30 p.m.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1