Thursday, October 14, 2010

Bring on the Weekend.

Things are seemingly starting to turn around for the Battlefords North Stars. After two straight victories against La Ronge and Humboldt they'll begin a difficult stretch of road games this weekend, starting in Weyburn tomorrow night. The last time the Stars and Red Wings faced one-and other, it was ugly. The Wings beat the Stars 7-1 at the Civic Center back on October 1st.

"We know it wasn't exactly a high-point in our season thus far, and it was a pretty embarrassing loss at home. And we need to redeem ourselves down there firstly for ourselves, and secondly for the people who were at the game here in North Battleford and show them that that's not the type of team we are," said Pearson yesterday morning.

The Stars are in Weyburn tomorrow followed by a Saturday showdown in Estevan. Sunday the Stars play an afternoon game against Notre Dame. A quick note regarding the start time - It has been changed. The game now starts at 1:30 instead of 2:00. The SJHL announced that change via e-mail on Tuesday afternoon.

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Brett Miller was my first intermission guest during Tuesday's win in Humboldt. Miller says that he could have played then, but didn't feel 100 percent ready. Here's hoping Miller can draw back into the lineup sometime this weekend. I'm of the opinion that the Stars would become exponentially better with Miller back in the fold.

My question is: What do you do with him? Do you put him back on a line with Blake Tatchell and Colin Phaneuf? Or do you keep Keith Grondin with those two, and put Miller elsewhere to help spread out the offense?

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Boyd Wakelin is still roughly two weeks away from returning from his shoulder injury. Getting Wakelin back will be a big boost for the team, who could use his grit. Wakelin also has a nose for the net. Lets not forget that he did score seven goals last year as a rookie.

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So much of the focus recently has been on the play of Graham Hildebrand, and rightfully so. But lost in all of the recent success has been the defensive improvements. I know he's only played two games with the Stars, but I feel that Chris Neurauter has been a tremendous addition. He's calm, confident and scored a huge goal for the Stars Tuesday to get the ball rolling. The addition of Neurauter has also seemed to help Cody Folstad. Folstad's play over the past two games has greatly improved since he's started playing alongside Neurauter.

Brody Luhning is another player that continues to get better by the day. Not only did he contribute in the shootout, but he did a fine job killing penalties on Tuesday, and plays with a maturity beyond his years. The Stars have a real keeper in Luhning.

The tandem of Woody Klassen and Zach MacLellan continues to play well. So far through the first nine games, MacLellan continues to contribute at both ends of the ice and his counterpart Woody Klassen has taken his play to an even higher level than in years past.

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Graham Hildebrand has been nothing short of outstanding during the past two games. It's obvious that Hildebrand's return to the lineup has given the Stars a boost, and the sky is the limit for what Hildebrand can accomplish this season statistically. I like Graham both as a player and a person, and it's great to see him achieving some early season success. It's definitely well deserved. That being said, I want to weigh in on some of the recent comments suggesting that Kyle Birch should be dealt. Before the season started, we had a lot of debate on this blog as to what the future of North Star's goaltending would look like? Would both Birch and Hildebrand start the season in the Battlefords? Would both be willing to platoon again? If not, which way would the Stars go?

Given Kyle's early struggles(statistically speaking) and Graham's early success, I can see why fans are siding with Hildebrand. But let me take a minute to remind you of what type of player and what kind of person Kyle Birch is.

Last season the playoffs, Graham Hildebrand won four straight games against Melfort and helped lead the Stars to round two of the playoffs. Kyle Birch never sulked, never whined, and remained a positive teammate and a supporter of Hildebrand and his success. After a Game one loss to La Ronge, Kyle Birch started in game two, and promptly shut-out the Ice Wolves 4-0.

For fans to place blame squarely on Birch for the bad start is unfair. Admittedly Birch did not play his best, but neither did the forwards, defense and special teams. Collectively the Stars were bad, and I think more than anything Birch was a victim of circumstance.

You watch. I can all but promise you that Kyle Birch will be stronger, faster and better when called upon next. Birch has shown over the years
that he responds well to competition, and has the ability to raise his game - Especially on the road.

The Stars have three games in days coming up, and it's almost a certainty that(barring injury) Birch will start in at least one of those games. Fans need to stop demanding and expecting trade and instead they need to enjoy this goaltending tandem while it's here. Numbers aside, we all know that the duo of Graham Hildebrand Kyle Birch is one of the top tandems in the SJHL. You need two great goalies to win a championship, and right now the Stars have that.

The wild-card in this scenario is Alex Sirard. The next few weeks will be very important for Sirard. Ken Pearson does have the option of giving all three goalies a game this weekend to prove themselves. Either way, it's nice to have options.

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As always, your comments and feedback are appreciated. What do you expect from the Stars this weekend? Do you think they can win all three? What would you classify as a success?

12 comments:

Stars123 said...

Whats the status of Egan? I thought the first game he played well. I heard he was a few games before being ready, is he good to go? I think 2 of 3 would be a success, if my memory serves me right, Did we not go down south last year and go 3 for 3 and that was the turning point in the year??

Anonymous said...

I think the most interesting game will be against Estevan. They have a lot of young talent and are just a step or two ahead of the Stars in finding their way to becoming a cohesive & consistent team. They also have a few former Stars in their lineup. I expect the most emotion from the Stars in the game against Weyburn. I'm not sure how that emotion will manifest but I'm hoping the Stars prove to be the better team. They have Notre Dame on the 3rd night and they might be a little bruised and tired so I really can't call that one. All I can say is that they will need to grind out some ugly goals because the Notre Dame goalies are exceptional this year.

Saskgolf said...

Dano, i dont blame Birch totally for losses but we need to call a spade a spade. Hildy since he got here has been a better goalie, Better positioning, never gets too far out of postion, even keeled never gets down of his teamates or himselve after a bad goal. If Hildy is the better goalie and plays more i dont see the reason to keep a 20 year old goalie sitting on the bench. Give him a chance to go somewhere and be the starter and give him that chance. Ok so i will take 2 of 3 this weekend and it is a success, with hildy winning both and birch losing one, JUST KIDDING thought i would throw that in to be funny. I just want the boys to win.

Unknown said...

I think that each goalie will be given a start on the road this weekend. Yes Hildy is playing extremely well, but we do need to decide what to do with the others and we can't do that if they are on the bench. Maybe this will be the weekend where decisions are made. I would like to see Miller and Morrissey on a line together, just to spread things out a bit. If Egan is ready to come back; you have to wonder where he is going to fit in as well. I think if we could get 2 points from either Weyburn or Estevan, that would be a success. And I would hope that we could get 2 points out of ND, but being the 3rd game we might not.

Stars123 said...

I find it kind of funny that I found North Star news on another teams blog but the SJHL isn't announcing it? Shay Neufeld has been traded to Salmon Arm BCHL for future considerations.

http://haashub.blogspot.com/2010/10/silverbacks-acquire-shay-neufeld.html

Dan O'Connor said...

Stars123:

As far as I know, Egan is healthy and good to go. Only reason he's not playing is because the other six are playing so well. I'd expect to see Egan and Kimery draw into the lineup at some stage this weekend.

Anonymous 1:

I'm also really looking forward to the Estevan game. It'll be neat to see Andersen, Waskewitch, Perrault, and Neufeld play against the Stars. My only grievance with Estevan is their broadcast booth - You can't even see the clock. You're dead-on about Notre Dame. It's always tough to play in Wilcox and the big ice-surface, especially when it's the third game in three nights.

Saskgolf:

Hockey is all about "what you've done for me lately." WIth that in mind, Hildebrand is rolling. But I do feel it's important to remember what Birch has done (08-09 playoffs, he's our MVP) and what he's capable of. All I can really say is that I'm glad I'm not a GM. So many tough decisions to make over the course of the season.

Anonymous said...

What will happen with the third goaler?

Anonymous said...

I thought Egan was traded?

Anonymous said...

I kind of agree that Birch should be traded. He's not a horrible goalie but Hildebrand should be our starter and Ken should see who he could get for Birch. Keep Sirad as a backup and send Birch somewhere where he could be a starter for his last season. Maybe the Stars could get someone who could help the team out. Ken has been trading vets all season without blinking, I don't know why the thought of trading Birch is causing such an uproar... It seems like a pretty obvious choice.

Anonymous said...

I would like to see Miller and Morrissey on a line as well, in hopes to spark some offence this weekend.

Anonymous said...

I wish Coach wouldn't schedule Notre Dame as the third game of the southern road trip - especially when the boys are playing again in two nights...in La Ronge! I know we've swept this southern swing in the past but it is asking a lot to play three games in three nights and on that ice surface. Ken, this message is for you - when scheduling the 2011-2012 season, please try not to make Notre Dame the third game of the road trip. I'll be checking into your broadcasts Dan for the 1st two games but I'll be glued to the TV on Sunday afternoon. Go Riders - Go Stars!

Anonymous said...

I dont think its Ken that makes the schedule. I believe its the league. every team in the north goes there for a 3 game road trip it really helps financially if its all in 1 rather than driving to Notredame on a seperate trip then driving back.