Stars Go One for Two.

Saturday night in Humboldt the Battlefords North Stars dropped a 4-2 decision to the Humboldt Broncos in front of a energetic crowd at the Elgar Petersen Arena. The Broncos were able to use some strong goaltending and opportunistic play to their advantage.

Humboldt opened the scoring 2:12 into the game. Riley Gillies received a pass on a two-on-one and beat Kyle Birch five-hole. Humboldt would then get three power-plays late in the first period, but were unable to capitalize on any of their opportunities.

Early in the second period, the Stars tied it. Ryan Andersen received a pass at center-ice from Josh Daley and did the rest himself. He used his speed to cut wide on the Humboldt defender, and then out-waited Andrew Bodnarchuk to tie the score at 1.

Moments later, Humboldt's Spencer Baht received a breakaway pass from Kyle Cowan, and was hauled down by Jesse Lebreton. The referee signalled for a penalty-shot, and Baht made no mistake. He glided in from center and went five-hole on Birch to give Humboldt a 2-1 lead.

The lead was short-lived because the North Stars went to the power-play a few seconds later, and at 7:32 of the middle frame, Jesse Lebreton scored his eighth goal of the year to tie the score at two.

Late in the second, the Stars got their fair share of power-plays but Humboldt's penalty-kill held the Stars in check. Goaltender Andrew Bodnarchuk and forward Bryce Walker were particularly impressive for the home team and after two periods, the score was tied at two.

The third period was all North Stars. They controlled play from the outset and had an enormous territorial edge. Troy Watt hit a goal post, and Dane Muench was stopped point-blank by Andrew Bodnarchuk. Humboldt didn't even get a shot on goal until the 13:51 mark of the final stanza.

But Humboldt showed some fantastic patience, and managed to weather the storm. After a defensive turnover between the blue line and center, justin Buzzeo picked up the puck, skated in alone on Birch, and scored his eighth goal of the season to give Humboldt a 3-2 lead. Troy Gasper would then add an empty-netter to seal the victory.

After the game, Ken Pearson applauded the efforts of his team, but suggested that once again some attempts at making "cute plays" cost his team.

It wasn't all bad news for the Stars though on the weekend.

Friday night at the Civic Center, the Stars climbed back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Estevan Bruins 5-3.

Ward Szucki scored twice, and Josh Daley, Mitch Wall and Brody Malek added singles for the Stars who still have only lost once at home all season.

Up next for the second-place North Stars: The Yorkton Terriers, Tuesday night at 7:30.