North Stars 2014-15 Record: 16-9-5-0
NorSask North Stars Hockey Broadcast Info:
- 1050 CJNB in the Battlefords
- 102.3 CJNS in Meadow Lake
- Listen Live: http://www.cjnb.com
- Ultra Print Pregame Show – 7:15
- Puck drop – 7:30
- Twitter.com/NorthStarsVoice
Last game recap: – The North Stars beat Kindersley 3-2. Read the recap here: https://northstarsbeacon.wordpress.com/2014/12/11/north-stars-back-in-the-win-column/
Storylines:
- Teddy Bear Toss: The North Stars will be hosting their annual Teddy Bear Toss to help support the WPD Ambulance’s Cram an Ambulance Campaign. Bring a Teddy Bear or stuffed animal and toss it on the ice after the North Stars’ first goal. The Terriers hosted their Teddy Bear Toss versus the North Stars last week and had a very good turn out with lots of stuffed animals on the ice. Let’s see if the Civic Center crowd can put up an even better showing!
- Hockey Day in Saskatchewan: Yesterday four members of the North Stars along with head coach and GM were whisked down to Carnduff to promote Hockey Day in Saskatchewan. The Stars played in the game earlier this year in St Walburg and will once again feature in the event. The 2015 version will occur in January and take place in Carnduff. That’s where Jake McMillen is from and he, along with Michael Statchuk, Kendall Fransoo and captain Ryne Keller, were down south yesterday talking to school kids to promote the event. I had an absolute blase back in January this year in St Walburg and can’t wait to be part of the event again this year.
- Christmas Break: The Stars have 4 games left before the break, counting tonight’s game, as they face Humboldt on the road on Sunday and then wrap up 2014 with a pair of home games versus Flin Flon next weekend. The Stars will be keen to finish the year really strong and set themselves up well heading into the new year. The break should also allow the team to heal up and get Igor Leonenko and Brock Weston back in the lineup.
- Final Meeting: This will be the 4th and final meeting between these two teams this season. Each team has a win in regulation and the North Stars have an shootout win as well. If Yorkton wins in regulation they will win the season series. If the Stars win in regulation or OT/SO they win the season series. They can tie if the Terriers win in overtime or a shootout.
- No Cassan: The Terriers head coach is away with Team Canada West where he is the head coach. They have an exhibition game tonight in Eston versus the US team. So the Terriers will be without their head coach but he was missing the other day in Yorkton and Casey O’Brien took care of things as his team grabbed a 3-2 win. The Terriers have a great coaching staff so shouldn’t miss a beat without their head coach for a few games.
Other Notes:
- Last game’s Canadian Tire 3 Stars: 3) Brenden Heinrich 2) Jake Erickson 1) Logan Nachtegaele
- Last game’s San-Berg Collision Collision of the Game: Michael Statchuk
- Head to Head:
Battlefords 2 @ Yorkton 3 (Dec 6 2014)
Yorkton 1 @ Battlefords 2 (Nov 7 2014)
Battlefords 3 @ Yorkton 2 (SO) (Sep 23 2014)
- Out of Town Scoreboard: Nipawin at Humboldt, La Ronge at Estevan, Melfort at Weyburn
Some Keys for the Stars:
1) Progress – The Stars have now played well in back to back games and are coming off a big win over a divisional rival. It’s important that they don’t take a step back tonight against Yorkton. They are building in the right direction and getting back on track. That process needs to continue and it starts with a good warmup and a fast start.
2) Power Play – Better of late, the power play struggled against the Klippers. It struggles when the puck is pressured which is the Klippers strength on the PK. The Stars are going to draw a lot of penalties when they are playing well because their speed and skill is hard to stop. They need to take those power plays and turn them into goals.
3) Discipline – The Stars took a few penalties against Kindersley that they won’t be happy about. There were two penalties that occurred away from the puck while the Stars were in possession in the attacking zone. Those ones really hurt. That will be an area that will be key tonight as these two teams meet for the third time this season. The Terriers try to play really physical hockey and sometimes cross the line. The North Stars will have to keep their cool and try not to retaliate.
North Stars Lineup:
Tremblay
Rewerts
Sych – Erickson
Statchuk – Vermeulen
Fransoo – Calverley
Keller – Kanter – Nachtegaele
Saharchuk – Delainey – O’Sullivan
Havens – McMillen – Heinrich
Fountain – Bond – Townsend
Scratches: Leonenko, Weston, Mitchell
North Stars Beacon 