THUNDER BAY – Overtime goals are rarely pretty.
Double overtime goals can be downright ugly.
After ending a marathon Game 4 with a goal 55 seconds into the second extra frame on Friday night, Euan Morrison couldn’t care less what the tally looked like.
All that matters is he got his stick on a Liam Gallaher pass and the puck somehow trickled past Thunder Bay goaltender Connor Lemieux, earning the Kam River Fighting Walleye a thrilling 6-5 triumph that evened their Bill Salonen Cup final against the North Stars at two games apiece.
“It’s absolutely a huge win for us, tying it up 2-2 and taking it back to the Norwest Arena,” said Morrison, his goal just the second of the postseason for the veteran forward.
“It was a huge team effort out of everyone. We knew we had to get to the net. We knew we had to get a stick on the puck and it might go in – and that’s how it went.”
The win capped a roller coaster of a contest for both teams.
Kam River jumped out in front 2-0, only to have the North Stars even the score, then scored a pair in the second to lead 4-2 after 40 minutes.
Of course, the North Stars had an answer.
Colby Feist cut the gap to one with just over seven to play, firing a wrist shot from the slot that evaded the glove of Kam River goaltender Eric Vanska. Rookie Evan Lachimea dribbled the equalizer past Vanska just over two minutes later and Nikolas Campbell made the most of a missed shot by Feist, burying the loose puck with 2:13 to play.
The Stars were looking set to take a 3-1 series lead.
But with 74 seconds to play, the puck screamed across the Fort William Gardens ice, 2,752 fans on the edge of their seats, Jack Cook wired a shot that fooled Lemieux and tied the game, sending it to overtime.
“That’s not the first time he’s done that,” Morrison said of the Superior International Junior Hockey League defenceman of the year.
True indeed. Cook sent Game 1 to overtime with a goal in the final two minutes, but in that one, the North Stars emerged victorious.
Not this time.
Ryan Doucette opened the scoring for the Fighting Walleye in the first, left alone in front of starter Keenan Marks, who was later yanked after allowing four goals on 16 shots.
Max Leduc, the hero of Game 3, doubled the Kam River lead 59 seconds into the second, but just over two minutes later it was Thunder Bay’s turn to light the lamp, E.J. Paddington deflecting the puck past Vanska. Less that three minutes on, the game was tied, Sam Skillestad sending a curveball floater that missed everything on its way to the mesh. However, 65 seconds later, Doucette gave the Fighting Walleye the lead again with a high wrist shot and then midway through the period Jeremy Dunmore scored a shorthanded tally, one of seven times the North Stars failed to capitalize with the man advantage.
The first overtime solved nothing, though the North Stars had plenty of chances to end it, including an Edison Weeks breakaway, his backhand effort turned aside by Vanska, who made 47 stops on the night.
The Fighting Walleye played the final 10 minutes of the first OT period without Cook, sent off with a misconduct.
Walker said it doesn’t matter how they won it, the series is now a best-of-three, and though home ice hasn’t been a factor yet, the Fighting Walleye have it back.
“They’ve all been really tightly contested hockey games, which a final should be,” said Walleye coach Geoff Walker. “But tonight our guys, I’ve never been so proud of a team in my life. With everything going against us – I think the penalties were eight to one, I’m just so proud of the way they just battled, battled, battled. Vanska made some huge saves for us there and we’re lucky enough to come out on top tonight. The job’s not done.”
Game 5 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Norwest Arena.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Kam River, Doucette 1 (Gallaher, Kramps) 10:55. Penalties: Cook KRW (high sticking) 3:58, Skillestad TB (slashing) 4:22, Bertrand TB (hooking) 6:27, Gallaher KRW (roughing) 15:03, Dunmore KRW (tripping) 17:31.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Kam River, Leduc 6 (E. Lang) 0:59. 2. Thunder Bay, Paddington 4 (Weeks, Anton) 3:38. 4. Thunder Bay, Skillestad 5 (Wesley, Winsor) 6:30. 5. Kam River, Doucette 2 (Kramps, Gallaher) 7:35. 6. Kam River, Dunmore (Lamoureux) 9:58 sh. Penalties: D. Lang KRW (high sticking) 8:11, D. Lang KRW (boarding) 13:12.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 7. Thunder Bay, Feist (Winsor, Glousher) 12:17. 8. Thunder Bay, Lachimea (Dickie, Caddo) 14:26. 9. Thunder Bay, Campbell 13 (Feist) 17:37. 10. Kam River, Cook (Lamoureux) 18:46. Penalties: Kramps KRW (high sticking) 8:29.
OVERTIME
Scoring: None. Penalties: Cook KRW (misconduct) 9:09, Kinnavanthong KRW (boarding), Doucette KRW (misconduct, game misconduct) 10:15.
DOUBLE OVERTIME
Scoring: 11. Kam River, Morrison 2 (Gallaher, Lamoureux) 0:55. Penalties: None.
GAME DATA – SOG – Kam River 10-11-11-9-1-42, Thunder Bay 19-12-8-13-0-52; Power plays (goals-chances) – Kam River (0-2), Thunder Bay (0-8); Goaltenders – Kam River: Eric Vanska, Thunder Bay: Keenan Marks (16 shots, 12 saves), Connor Lemieux (9:58, second); A: 2,752.
