A topsy-turvy season for the Battlefords AAA Stars finally ended last Wednesday in Prince Albert as the Mintos downed the Stars 5-1.
The game was played at the Art Hauser Centre Arena and brought an end to the regular season for the Stars. The Mintos go on to playoff action in the Saskatchewan AAA Midget Hockey League as the top-ranked team with a record of 31-8-4-1 for 67 points.
Prince Albert took control from early in the first period. Brennen Bosovich beat Blair Mahon at the 3:47 mark with the assist from Tad Kozun to make it 1-0. Later he scored his second of the game from Sawyer Lange and Tyson Dallman at the 7:59 mark.
At the 9:25 mark, Eric Bollefer scored from Taylor Clark to wrap up the first period scoring, with Prince Albert leading the Battlefords 3-0 after one. Prince Albert outshot the Battlefords 10-5 in the period.
The second period saw the Mintos barrage the Stars with 20 shots on goal, compared to the Stars' five. But Mahon had a stellar period, keeping every single shot out of the Stars' net. The lone goal of the period came at the 8:22 mark when Colby Cave scored unassisted while the Stars were shorthanded.
Alas, it turned out to be the last goal of the season for the Stars. In the third period the Stars mustered only three shots on goal while Prince Albert had 14. Jason Duret scored from Regan Wilton and Andrew Manson at the 3:51 mark and then Carter Danczak scored from Bryden Serafini to make it a 5-1 final for the Mintos.
Final shots on goal were 44 for the Mintos against 13 for the Stars. Manson was named the first star for the Mintos. Blair Mahon was named second star for the Stars while Jason Duret was named third star for the Mintos.
For the Stars, the regular season ends with 10 wins 32 losses, one tie and one overtime loss for 22 points, well out of the playoff picture.
All that's left now for the Stars is for the team to reflect on what might have been and to get ready for the off-season.
The eight playoff contenders now prepare to meet in the best-of-five first round with Prince Albert taking on Yorkton, the Contacts taking on Tisdale, Moose Jaw against Beardy's and ND Argos taking on Regina.
