PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – The Kam River Fighting Walleye knew they were going to be in tough at the Centennial Cup.
They met their match on Thursday, opening the national junior A championship in Portage La Prairie, Man., with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Battleford North Stars, champions of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
Jeremy Dunmore had the lone goal for the Fighting Walleye, who defeated the Thunder Bay North Stars in seven games to claim the Superior International Junior Hockey League title, a first in franchise history.
Dunmore’s tally came seven minutes into the second, cutting Battleford's lead in half at the time, the North Stars in front 2-1.
The Stars didn’t let up, scoring a pair of unanswered goals to close out the contest.
Tanner Gold tallied with 1:20 to in the second and Colby Bear rounded out the goal scoring midway through the third.
Steven Kesslering and Jackson Allan had the other goals for Battleford.
Eric Vanska made 36 saves on 40 shots in net for Kam River, while Josh Kotai earned the win between the piper for the North Stars, stopping 23 of 24 shots.
Kam River takes on the host Portage Terriers on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with the Steinbach Pistons scheduled for Sunday. They’ll wrap up round-robin play on Tuesday against Collingwood, the Ontario Junior Hockey League champs.
