Tanner Quinn scored twice as the Battlefords North Stars defeated the Estevan Bruins 4-1 Saturday night to increase their lead as the top team in the SJHL.
The North Stars (19-5-0-2) held a decided edge in puck control throughout the game, firing 36 shots on Bruins starter Steven Glass. The loss dropped the second-place Bruins to 16-10 on the year.
Braeden Johnson opened the scoring at 3:49 of the first period when he took a quick feed from Blake Tatchell on an odd-man rush and tapped it past Glass. Quinn made it 2-0 midway through the second period when he banged home a centering pass from behind the net.
The Bruins got on the board at 4:38 of the third period when defenceman Tyler Kauk got a wrist shot through traffic and under the arm of North Stars goalie Connor Creech.
Just as they were pressing hard for the tying goal, though, a failure to clear the puck out of their zone resulted in Brett Miller roofing a shot from the left face-off circle off a pass from Tatchell, who had three assists on the night. That goal with three minutes left gave the Stars a two-goal cushion.
Quinn rounded out the scoring on an empty-netter with 31 seconds to play. The final shots on goal were 36-20 for the Bruins.