By Martin Martinson

Stars and Broncos set for round two of battle royal this weekend

Jan 5, 2019 | 1:00 PM

The Battlefords North Stars return to action tonight at the Elgar Petersen Arena in Humboldt, looking to avenge a tough 3-2 overtime defeat at the hands of the rival Humboldt Broncos less than 24-hours ago in Battleford.

The two teams enter the evening separated by just a single point in the Global Ag. Risk Solutions Division, with the North Stars, however, still possessing two games in hand.

Holding a 20-9-8 record over their first 37 games, the North Stars sit second in the division with 48 points on the year, while the Broncos, at 22-14-3 through their first 39 games, are third at 47 points.

There will be several changes to the Stars’ lineup Saturday, not so much with personnel, but rather the line combinations with which the forwards are deployed, as the Battlefords’ coaching staff looks to shake things up following Friday’s nightmarish turn of events that saw the team fall in overtime after being just 7:33 away from a 2-0 victory.

The Elijah Loon Stewardson, Braydon Buziak, Owen Lamb line will mark the only forward trio that remains together from Friday’s contest.

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In addition to the offensive contribution by Lamb, with the forward factoring in on each of the Stars’ two goals, the Buziak unit also saw a lot of ice time against the Zambon, Foster, Cecconi line, keeping the crafty recent iceman, Logan Foster unable to break through offensively despite his best attempts, likely being Humboldt’s most noticeable player through the first two periods.

MacGregor Sinclair, who leads the team in scoring with 38 points on the year, will suit up tonight between Quintin Loon-Stewardson and Dayton Heino on a line that should bring both skill and toughness.

The Urbanski unit will see the speedy sophomore joined once again by Ryan Gil, keeping the two’s chemistry intact. They will welcome Brett Gammer to the fold as the Edmonton product takes the spot on the right wing-side vacated by Heino.

Urbanski will look to continue his hot play as of late, play that has seen the centerman come flying out of the gates from the Christmas break to register two goals and four points in three games since the holidays.

Line four sees Kaden Boser draw back into the lineup and onto the left wing of Dylan Esau and Regan Doig in a fast and physical conglomerate that knows their role and can be utilized to generate a spark for their team through a sound and aggressive offensive forecheck.

On the backend, Stars’ captain and minute-muncher Cody Spagrud will miss his second-straight game, remaining sidelined due to a lower-body injury.

Matthew Fletcher and Seth Summers will again shoulder the brunt of the matchup workload against the Warkentine, Clarke, Guenter line for the Broncos – a line that was pretty much neutralized Friday until the final half-period.

Tanner Scott and Noah Form should continue to familiarize themselves as a duo together, coming off a game that saw Form step up offensively and the puck hard to the net on a play that lead directly to Owen Lamb’s tally.

Austin Shumanski and Ryan Granville bring consistency and familiarity through the season every night. While there are no surprises with this duo, the blossoming play of Ryan Granville as the season continues should give Stars’ fans something to keep an eye on as the 18-year-old’s confidence continuing to grow, as showcased by his willingness to handle the puck for an extended period and remain poised under duress from the Humboldt forecheck exhibited last night.

Between the pipes, the Stars will once again call on Joel Grzybowski in a game with huge standings implications within the division. Grzybowski has been amongst the elite of the elite over the last two months, continuing his hot play from before Christmas into the New Year, with the goaltender making 36 stops on the 39 shots he faced against the Broncos just one night ago, good for a .923sv% to kick off 2019.

Fans can catch all the action from the Elgar Petersen Arena on 1050 CJNB with the pregame show at 7:15 p.m. and puck drop to follow at 7:30 p.m.

North Stars lineup at a glance

Forwards:

E. Loon-Stewardson, B. Buziak, O. Lamb

Q. Loon-Stewardson, M. Sinclair, D. Heino

R. Gil, M. Urbanski, B. Gammer

K. Boser, D. Esau, R. Doig

Defensemen:

T. Scott, N. Form

S. Summers, M. Fletcher

A. Shumanski, R. Granville

Goaltenders:

J. Grzybowski

C. Duran

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1