The Battlefords North Stars have won two straight games and three of their last four after a 6-2 win over the Kindersley Klippers.
Six different players scored for the North Stars, while goaltender Chase Kettles stopped 39 of the 41 shots he faced.
“I thought it was a really good 60-minute effort from our guys,” said North Stars assistant coach Owen Lamb after the game.
“I think we really took control of the game in the first period and never looked back. So really happy with the performance our guys had.”
The North Stars opened the scoring near the end of the opening frame.
After Klippers goalie Ethan Suhr slid across the crease to rob Michiel Leenders, Leenders collected the rebound and found Linken Fisher at the point. Fisher slid the puck to Brody Guiltner in the slot. Guiltner scored his second goal in as many games to put the North Stars up 1-0 at 17:20.
After one: 1-0 North Stars, shots 16-13 North Stars
The North Stars picked up where they left off to begin the second period.
At 3:02, Fisher found Owen Nelson down low. Nelson scored on a sharp-angle one-timer over Suhr’s shoulder to put the North Stars up 2-0 with his third goal of the season.
Finlay Klippenstein extended the North Stars’ lead to 3-0 with his fifth goal of the season, taking a pass from Leenders in the slot and scoring on another one-timer at 7:36.
“He had a good game tonight. That goal was big and then I just noticed a lot of just good second efforts and winning those 50-50 puck battles. That just created a whole lot of offence for his line, and it’s good to see him get on the scoresheet again,” said Lamb.
Klippenstein then took a hooking penalty, but it was the North Stars who did damage on the penalty kill.
After Suhr stopped a Cole Hines shot and Raiden Zacharias’ rebound attempt, Zacharias found Hines in front with Suhr out of position. Hines scored his fourth goal of the season to make it 4-0 for the North Stars at 8:56.
The Klippers got one back before the end of the period. Cooper Perrin hit Konnor Watson with a stretch pass to send him in on a breakaway. Watson scored on Kettles’ blocker side.
Watson’s ninth goal of the season and fourth against the North Stars cut the lead to 4-1 at 12:27.
After two: 4-1 North Stars, shots 17-11 Klippers, 30-27 Klippers total
The North Stars quickly halted any momentum the Klippers carried into the third period.
After a puck battle in the corner, Zacharias passed to Kaleb Dewar in the slot. Dewar scored his sixth goal of the season to put the North Stars up 5-1 just 27 seconds into the third period.
video credit: Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW staff
Zacharias made it 6-1 for the North Stars at 6:26, getting a bounce off Suhr’s skate for his second goal of the season.
video credit: Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW staff
The Klippers made it 6-2 at 13:47 when Cam Perlinger scored his fourth goal of the season.
Kindersley could not complete a comeback, and the North Stars swept the weekend series.
Final score: 6-2 North Stars, shots 13-11 North Stars, 41-40 Klippers total
Chase Kettles’ 39 saves earned him the first star of the game.
“He just keeps outdoing himself. That was definitely his best performance. He’s just coming into his own. He’s just playing unbelievable right now,” Lamb said.
The North Stars will travel to Humboldt to face the Broncos on Remembrance Day.
“Our group feels good. It feels like things are starting to click. So just making sure we keep that going,” said Lamb.
“Humboldt’s got a good team over there, so we got to be ready, but really just focusing on our game and continuing to build.”
The North Stars will aim for their third straight victory and fourth in five games when they face the Broncos on Wednesday.
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