Humboldt Broncos captain Connor Miller scored the game-tying and game-winning goals in the third period as the Broncos took down the Battlefords North Stars 7-5.
North Stars goaltender Nathan Claydon was busy, facing 58 shots and stopping 52 of them in the loss.
“Obviously frustrated at the moment. I thought there’s some really good moments throughout the game,” said North Stars assistant coach Owen Lamb.
The North Stars opened the scoring at the 4:35 mark of the opening frame.
Linken Fisher sent Brody Guiltner on a quick breakaway with a stretch pass from the defensive zone. After Guiltner was stopped on the breakaway, he stuck with the rebound and found Kaleb Dewar out in front for Dewar’s seventh goal of the season, putting the North Stars up 1-0.
Ryan Lambert’s point of view
Humboldt tied the game at the 13:30 mark. After a shot was deflected wide to the right, Kayson Christian slid the puck behind the net to Nate Macphee, who slid it past Claydon to tie things at 1-1.
Ryan Lambert’s point of view
Later on, Logan Duncan gave the North Stars the lead with his first goal in the SJHL. Damian Wiebe’s initial shot was stopped by Humboldt goaltender Reid Wasserman, but Duncan got the rebound and put the North Stars ahead 2-1 at the 17:42 mark of the first period.
“I thought it was his best performance, and I thought he did a really good job find those soft areas to get shots off,” Lamb said of Duncan.
Ryan Lambert’s point of view
After one: 2-1 North Stars, shots 25-11 Broncos
Humboldt tied the game just 53 seconds into the second period.
Carysn Dyck fired a shot in tight on the right side of the slot. Claydon got a good piece of the shot, but it trickled through to tie things up for the Broncos at 2-2.
Ryan Lambert’s point of view
At the 3:58 mark, Owen Nelson restored the lead for the North Stars.
On the power play, Nelson took a pass down low from Carter Geysen. He surprised Wasserman with a sharp-angle shot, sliding it through the five-hole to put the North Stars up 3-2.
Ryan Lambert’s point of view
As the back-and-forth game continued, Humboldt tied it up at the 8:08 mark.
After Claydon made the initial save, the rebound popped out to AJ Paulsen, giving the Broncos defenceman a wide-open net to shoot at.
Paulsen tied the game with his first SJHL goal in 44 games.
Ryan Lambert’s point of view
The Broncos took the lead at the 11:48 mark when Christian drove the net, sliding the puck past a poke-checking Claydon to put Humboldt up 4-3.
There was a quick whistle on the goal, which led to an extensive discussion by the officials, but the goal stood.
Ryan Lambert’s point of view
Braydon Franks tied the game for the North Stars at the 16:23 mark of the period.
On a two-on-one, Michiel Leenders hit Franks’ tape, and Franks scored his second goal as a North Star to tie it near the end of the period.
Ryan Lambert’s point of view
After two: Tied 4-4, shots 13-11 North Stars, 36-24 Broncos total
Like the North Stars goal near the end of the second period, Leenders found himself with the puck on a two-on-one.
This time it was with Nelson, and this time Leenders elected to shoot.
After showing pass and taking the shot, Leenders fired it past Wasserman for his seventh goal of the year to make it 5-4 North Stars.
Ryan Lambert’s point of view
Just over halfway through the frame, Connor Miller scored a highlight-reel goal to tie things up.
Walking into the zone alone, Miller split a pair of defencemen. The contact made Miller fall, but he poked the puck past Claydon with one hand on his stick to tie the game at 5-5 for Humboldt at the 10:55 mark.
Ryan Lambert’s point of view
Later on, it was Miller once again getting it done for the Broncos.
With just 22 seconds left in the final frame, Claydon made a pair of saves on Ryan Ulmer. However, Miller jumped into the play, scoring on the third rebound to put the Broncos up 6-5.
Ryan Lambert’s point of view
Carsten Kayter added an empty-net goal, and the Broncos went home with the victory.
Final score: 7-5 Broncos, shots 23-5 Broncos, 59-29 Broncos total
“We let things slide there at the end and let them take control, and we just got to really make sure we’re playing that simple, hard game. Not losing those 50-50 battles and just really competing because as you can see, anything can happen,” Lamb said.
After the loss, the North Stars are back at home Friday to start a five-game homestand, beginning with a pair of games against the Yorkton Terriers over the weekend.
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