North Stars travel to Melfort for showdown of league’s top two teams

Taking place once again at Northern Lights Palace in Melfort, the evening will mark the Battlefords’ return to the scene where the Stars edged out the Mustangs 5-4 in the shootout last month.

The North Stars and Mustangs sit first and third in offensive production this season, with 95 and 76 goals respectively. A large reason for the teams’ lethal offence, is the push contributed by the back end.

Both are led by premier defence cores that feature some of the top two-way rearguards and point producers in the league.

Four of the top five, and six of the top nine blue line scorers in the league will face off between the two sides.

The Stars’ Matthew Fletcher (25 points), Seth Summers (17 points), and Noah Form (12 points) sit first, fourth and tied for eighth in defencemen scoring.

The Mustangs’ Nolan Kadachuk (20 points), Alex Rondeau (16 points) and Hobson (12 points), meanwhile, rank second, fifth and tied for eighth.

The offensive push from the back end, at either end of the ice should make for a fast-paced, exciting game between the two clubs.

Up front, one big hit offensively for the Battlefords will be the absence of Elijah Loon-Stewardson who will miss Friday’s action with an upper body injury. The game-breaking winger has been a force this season with 19 points in 20 games this year.

In the veteran’s absence, Rylan Nivon will shift from the left wing to the right on the top line. Austin Becker will then move up to complete the unit with Quintin Loon-Stewardson at centre.

This will mark the first time this season the Battlefords’ top three forward scorers will be assembled on a single unit.

Following up on line two, rookies Dace Prymak and Steven Kesslering will get a shot in the top six as well, alongside veteran forward, Matthias Urbanski on the night.

Bringing speed, tenacity and skill with the puck, the rookies may get an increased role on the power play as well, in the absence of a special teams’ mainstay.

On special teams, the Mustangs have been a force this year. The team boasts a top power play in the league, clicking on nearly 19 per cent of their opportunities, while also featuring in at over 85 per cent on the penalty kill.

While the Stars man advantage may be further down the totem pole at just over 15 per cent efficiency, the team does appear to be trending in the right direction. The Stars potted two power play goals against the Humboldt Broncos Tuesday.

The Stars’ penalty kill has been sharp from the outset, sitting second in the league at over 87 per cent effectiveness heading into the weekend.

Between the pipes, the North Stars will return to Adam Dmyterko, who will make his first start of November.

One of the top goaltenders by each metric, through 11 starts this season, Dmyterko leads all goalies with 11 wins. The Saskatoon product, also sits top-four in goals-against and save percentage with a 2.49 goals-against average and .925 save percentage.

Friday’s game will be broadcasted on 1050 CJNB. The Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin at 7:15 p.m. with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. on NAPA North Stars Hockey.

North Stars lineup

Forwards:

A. Becker, Q. Loon-Stewardson, R. Nivon

M. Urbanski, D. Prymak, S. Kesslering

C. Reagan, B. Gammer, D. Esau

K. Boser, R. McNinch, L. Spence

Defencemen:

N. Form, D. McCabe

S. Summers, M. Fletcher

L. Antoniuk, T. Prexler

Goaltenders:

A. Dmyterko

A. Schwab

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1

by Martin Martinson

North Stars travel to Melfort for showdown of league’s top two teams

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