Jeremy Adduono channeled his inner Roger Neilson Wednesday night.
It appeared to work.
The Thunder Bay North Stars coach, frustrated at an officiating staff that handed the visiting Minnesota Iron Rangers the first five power plays of the game, waved a white towel of surrender before tossing it into the Fort William Gardens stands.
His actions didn’t go unnoticed, by referee Scott Wrigley and his players.
Wrigley tossed Adduono from the contest, which was tied 2-2 at the time, midway through the second period.
Less than three minutes later the North Stars took the lead for good, Charlie Corness circling in front of the Minnesota Iron Rangers net and letting loose a quick wrist shot that flew past Anthony Pupplo. Jake Robinson would add the eventual game-winner in the third as Thunder Bay went on to the 4-3 win, ending a three-game losing streak.
Not only was it the first goal of the campaign for Corness, it was his first point in 33 appearances.
“It’s pretty big,” said the 17-year-old Thunder Bay native.
“To get the first one is big, so I’m going to try to get a couple more. I’ve been playing forward the last couple of games. I was just waiting for it, itching to get one. It’s really good to get the monkey off my back.”
Timing is everything.
With Adduono in the dressing room, Corness said it didn’t take much to get his juices going.
“I think I was just fired up the whole game. There was lots of chirping going on. The first two shifts I had lots of big hits,” the 210-pound Corness said.
“It sparked me and the team. I was just waiting to score. I was thinking to myself on the bench, I need a goal here. I saw the opportunity and I tried my best to get it in and it just so happened to go in.”
Adduono, who didn’t see the goal, banished as he was, nonetheless was pretty pumped for the freshman.
“He’s battled some nagging injuries, but he does whatever is asked of him and he played great tonight. He started out by moving his feet and finishing some checks. He went to the crease area and he got rewarded,” Adduono said. “So I’m really happy for him.”
It’s a game the North Stars never trailed in.
Kris Hamlin started the offensive ball rolling nine minutes into the first, netting his 15th of the season, the only goal of the period.
Austin Ramirez tied it for the Iron Rangers on the power play 2:05 into the second, beating Riley Corbin, but the two teams were on even ground for just 30 seconds, Nicholas Nigro scoring his league-leading 24th of the season. Dalton Johnson tied it at the 7:53 mark, Corness replying six minutes later.
The middle stanza wasn’t without some excitement away from the puck.
Nigro and John Cuni were tossed for fighting midway through the period, moments before Adduono followed them out.
Adduono apologized to his team after the game.
“There was nothing malicious about it, but at the same time, maybe it did give our team a little bit of a spark. There are a lot of things as a coach you can’t control, but one of them is the attitude of the team and that’s on me,” he said.
“But at the end of the day they found a way to get the two points.”
The third-place Stars (21-18-3) host Dryden for a pair on Friday and Saturday nights. The Iron Rangers dropped to 14-20-2.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Thunder Bay, Hamlin 15 (unassisted) 8:56. Penalties: Tighe TB (unsportsmanlike conduct) 8:56, Gillis TB (holding) 18:36.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Minnesota, Ramirez 6 (Huot, Lindstrom) 2:05 pp. 3. Thunder Bay, Nigro 24 (Thrower) 2:35. 4. Minnesota, Johnson 7 (unassisted) 7:53. 5. Thunder Bay, Corness (Robinson, Ward) 14:04. Penalties: Corness TB (cross checking) 1:15, Tighe TB (high sticking) 4:28, Nigro TB (fighting major, game misconduct), Arabia TB (misconduct), Tighe TB (misconduct), Cuni MIN (fighting major, game misconduct), Martyn TB (elbowing) 11:17,Ramirez MIN, Corness TB (misconducts) 16:23. Ellingson MIN (interference) 16:30
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 6. Thunder Bay, Robinson (Gillis) 9:12. Penalties: Martyn TB (elbowing) 0:49, Huot MIN (high sticking) 2:43, Johnson MIN (tripping) 5:51, Arnold MIN (cross checking) 7:06, Glowatch TB (tripping) 9:48, Bennett MIN (unsportsmanlike conduct) 13:05, Wesley-Chisel (holding) 14:12, Martyn TB (cross checking) 18:29
GAME DATA – SOG – Minnesota 10-15-16-41, Thunder Bay 17-9-8-34; Power plays (goals-chances) – Minnesota (1-7), Thunder Bay (0-5); Goaltenders – Minnesota: Anthony Pupplo, Thunder Bay: Riley Corbin; A: 175.
