ESTEVAN - The Battlefords North Stars edged the Estevan Bruins 2-1 Friday night at Affinity Place in a clash between two of the top teams in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL).
Holden Doell scored the winning goal on a power play with 43 seconds to play in the second period. The North Stars have now won seven straight games.
The two teams were scoreless after the first period. The Bruins had likely the best chance to score a few minutes into the period, but a Mark Rumsey shot hit the post.
Mikol Sartor opened the scoring 58 seconds into the second period to give Estevan a 1-0 advantage. Estevan had some good chances to score afterwards, but didn't convert. Steven Kesslering’s goal 6 1/2 minutes later tied the game, and then Doell tallied late in the middle frame.
The Stars outshot the Bruins 16-12 in the period.
The Bruins' best chance to score in the third came midway through the period when they had a two-man advantage for more than a minute.
While they had a couple of shots on goal in the power play, they couldn’t put the puck past Stars goaltender Michael Harroch, who finished with 34 saves on the night.
The Stars limited the Bruins high-scoring offence to just a few shots on goal in the final seven minutes of the game.
Boston Bilous stopped 32 shots for Estevan.
The Bruins (17-5-1-1) will host another top team in the league, the Melfort Mustangs, on Saturday night, starting at 7:30 p.m. The North Stars (17-6-1-1), meanwhile, will continue their road trip Saturday when they visit the Weyburn Red Wings, also at 7:30 p.m.
