It’s been a record-setting year for the Battlefords North Stars.
The team finished first overall in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) with a franchise-high 48 wins.
However finishing first doesn’t guarantee a championship, something the team knows all too well.
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The North Stars had the best record in the league on five previous occasions, including last season, and all five times they’ve been knocked out in the playoffs.
The team’s only SJHL title came in the year 2000 when they finished second overall.
But the current squad isn’t dwelling on past failures.
“We don’t really like to think about it,” North Stars forward Ben Allen said
“We just put that in the past and we trust our team this year so we know we’ll get it done.”
Allen had six goals in the four-game sweep of the Weyburn Red Wings, including three game-winners.
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The North Stars are getting ready for a semifinal series against Estevan and team feel they’re poised to break the first-place curse despite splitting the regular season series with the Bruins.
“We did go two and two but one of them was at the beginning of the year. We started off struggling but I’m not too concerned about it,” North Stars goaltender Taryn Kotchorek said.
“I think as long as we have the right mindset, we’ll be good to go against them.”
Game 1 goes Friday evening at the North Battleford Civic Centre.
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