Weyburn Red Wings head coach Wes Rudy was upset after a controversial end to the game against the Battlefords North Stars Saturday, as the North Stars picked up a 2-1 win over the Wings.

The two teams battled through 57 minutes with neither team able to pick up a goal, as Shaun Fleming played strong for the Wings, and at the other end Taryn Kotchorek was stellar in goal for the Stars. The deadlock was finally broken late in the third period, when Connor Logan scored his 16th of the season, getting the puck past Fleming.

The Red Wings, with their backs against the wall, poured it on in the dying minutes, and got a break with 2:07 on the clock, when Connor Sych was called for hooking. With the man advantage, Rudy called Fleming to the bench in favour of the extra attacker. The Wings were then able to convert on the power play, when Carson Rose took a feed across the crease from Braden Mellon, and put it in past Koscherak with just 16.5 seconds on the clock.

As the buzzer came close, the controversy came up. The Stars fired the puck into the Wings end, and Fleming picked it up and fired it off the glass, trying to get it out of the zone. It was knocked down, and thrown on net by Coby Downs. Fleming hadn’t gotten back in position, and the puck hit him, then went up in the air, and hit the ice. The green light behind the net, which comes on when the clock hits 0:00, turned on, signalling the end of the period, and the puck then crossed the line.

Referee Levi Schutz signalled the goal counted, while the other referee, Aidan Brown, didn’t look as sure. The referees conferred on the goal, and it was counted, giving the Stars the victory. Officials put 0.8 seconds back onto the clock, and the puck was dropped, ending the game.

The Stars came into the game without two key parts of the offense, Layne Young and Macgregor Sinclair. Both players were suspended for hits in the game Friday night against the Wings. Despite the lack of offense, the Stars put 36 shots on goal, of which, Fleming saved 35 of them in regulation while earning the loss.

Despite the loss, the Red Wings hold on to 6th place in the SJHL, and are in good shape heading into the final stretch of the regular season. Weyburn will look to improve the record further Sunday night, when they close out their road trip with a visit to the Kindersley Klippers. The game starts at 7:30 p.m., and you can listen live on Red Wing Radio K1-6, starting with the pregame show at 7:20 p.m.