Saturday night at the Civic Centre, the Battlefords North Stars earned their third straight win and it was also viewed as a bounce back game for some of the North Stars veterans.
The North Stars played the rebuilt, but still defending champion La Ronge Ice Wolves and earned the 2-0 win.
Blake Tatchell scored 4:44 into the game and it stayed that way until late in the third period. Braeden Johnson moved the puck to Tatchell behind the North Stars' net, where Tatchell saw some daylight and made it count. Tatchell rushed the puck the length of the ice, deked a defenceman and slide the puck by Myles Hovdebo on a bad angle to put the North Stars in front.
That was all the offence the North Stars would need, as Graham Hildebrand made his second start of the season and was perfect Saturday night after getting pulled nearly 12 minutes into his first start, which was the home opener against Kindersley and the only loss for the North Stars on the season.
With three minutes left in the third period, Jonhson capitalized on a rebound in the slot and gave the North Stars some insurance. Tatchell passed the puck in front from the left wing-side and Jared Kambeitz couldn't capitalize. Kambeitz, a La Ronge defenceman and Hovdebo slid to the side of the net and Johnson fired the puck home to put the Battlefords up 2-0 and give him two goals on the season.
Hovdebo played strong and ended up with a star of the game honour after making 24 saves, but it was Hildebrand not only giving his team a chance to win, but earning his first shutout of the season and first star honours with a 33-save performance.
"He was phenomenal," said Johnson of his goaltender Saturday night. "We had a bit of a lapse there in the second period and he held his own and made some big saves for us."
The second period lapse Johnson referred to, forced coach Kevin Hasselberg to take a timeout after several straight shifts of good puck control by the Ice Wolves and more than six minutes of sustained pressure.
The North Stars weathered that storm from La Ronge, who once again proved their troubles with scoring this season. The Ice Wolves are 1-5-0-0 this season and have scored just seven goals.
The North Stars, who are tied for third in the Bauer Conference at 3-1-0-0 this season while scoring 12 goals, as the contribution from the top line was a welcomed asset.
"It comes down to our fundamentals," said Johnson. One third of the veterans are on the first line, and have combined for 10 points in the first four games. "We were getting pucks deep, and we were working a bit harder and we were rewarded with the two goals tonight."
The top line for the North Stars struggled against Melfort, but still many feel the trio of Johnson, Tatchell and Miller has the skills to be one of the top lines in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
The North Stars are now back in the debate about which goalie will start next. All three, Hildebrand, Connor Creech and Jared Knott, have won games and thus far the team has rotated the three goalies.
The next test for the North Stars was scheduled for Tuesday in Kindersley and then they will be back at home Friday to host the division leading Nipawin Hawks.
