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Gerrie, Auger tie for SIJHL scoring lead

North Stars all-stars finish with 102 points apiece, but Keighan Gerrie awarded scoring title by virtue of having more goals.

THUNDER BAY – It was pretty fitting the Keighan Gerrie and Kyle Auger tied atop the Superior International Junior Hockey League scoring parade.

Gerrie, a 17-year-old forward with NHL aspirations, scored twice and added four assists on Saturday night, while Auger became the first defenceman in league history to cross the 100-point threshold, scoring a hat trick as the Thunder Bay North Stars closed out their regular season schedule with a 14-0 romp over the visiting Minnesota Iron Rangers.

Both players finished the season with 102 points, just the ninth and 10th players to score 100 points in a season – joined later in the night by Red Lake rookie Bryce Young, who scored three times and added a helper in the Miners 5-3 season-finale win over Fort Frances, finishing with 60 goals and 101 points.

Officially Gerrie gets the scoring title, because he had 41 goals, eight more than Auger.

Both players were well aware of what was at stake.

But neither player was too worried about who had more points.

“It was a pretty special feeling,” Gerrie said of his six-point effort. “The guys in the room, they were all helping me out and trying to get me the puck. But I couldn’t have done it without my line-mates. We’ve been playing good all year. We’ve been moving good.

“It’s pretty special to tie Kyle like that, both at 102 (points). We were both joking about it earlier.”

Auger, who joined the Stars midway through last season after three years in major junior, had to battle back with a pair of third-period tallies to catch Gerrie, after hitting the 100-point mark with a rocket of a shot at 12:20 of the second.

“It was fun. (Keighan) got two ahead of me, so I had to kind of bust back. Luckily I got two more. But I think it’s fitting, like the coaches said, and the guys said. I think it’s pretty special to tie a guy like that. I’m happy and I hope it sticks like that,” said Auger, who lost his lone assist in Friday night’s loss to Red Lake to drop back to 99 points.

“I think no one really deserves it other than us.”

North Stars coach Rob DeGagne, whose club hit the 100-point mark and finished 49-5-2, called having players like Gerrie and Auger a great luxury in the lineup.

“If you really think about it, we’ve got a 17-year-old kid that is still in high school scoring 100 points in the league, and then you’ve got a defenceman scoring 100 points or more. They’re two real talented and really great hockey players, but more importantly they’re really good young men too. That’s important,” DeGagne said.

It became a bit of an in-game competition, he added, the coaching staff extending shifts to nudge each player’s chances.

“It was a friendly competition out there and I’m glad it ended the way it did,” DeGagne said.

Captain Ryan Mignault, who scored twice, fell one goal short of 50, robbed by Minnesota goalie Synjen Amende in the final seconds of the contest to deny him the milestone goal.

“I had a few chances I kind of messed up on, but I was one away. If it’s not going to happen, it’s not going to happen, I guess,” Mignault said.

Jacob Brown, playing alongside Gerrie, collected a hat trick, with singles going to Jacob Anttonen, Jonathan Kilby and Michael Stubbs.

Brown also had a pair of assists, finishing the season with 29 goals and 61 points in 35 appearances.

Brock Aikan made 18 stops to pick up his league-leading eighth shutout of the season, second only to Carter Hutton’s 10 in 2005-06.

Minnesota, who neither scored nor was assessed a penalty, finished the season on a 29-game losing streak, with a 3-53-0 record.

Star gazing: The North Stars, who have a first-round bye, set a new SIJHL standard with 363 goals, eclipsing the 353 scored by the 2005-06 Fort William North Stars. The Iron Rangers set a dubious mark, their 478 goals against 46 more than the Iron Range Iron Heads surrendered in 2011-12. Minnesota opens the best-of-five first round against Thief River Falls.

FIRST PERIOD
Scoring
: 1. Thunder Bay, Gerrie 40 (Brassard, Willan) 1:47. 2. Thunder Bay, Anttonen 19 (unassisted) 16:43. 3. Thunder Bay, Gerrie 41 (Brown) 19:04.:Penalties: None.

SECOND PERIOD
Scoring
: 4. Thunder Bay, Auger 31 (Gerrie, Brown) 12:20. 5. Thunder Bay, Brown 27 (Gerrie, Brown) 13:10. 6. Thunder Bay, Kilby 12 (unassisted) 16:58. 7. Thunder Bay, Mignault 48 (Stubbs, Bryant) 18:34. Penalties: Halushak TB (high sticking) 6:21, B. Erwin TB (boarding) 15:02.

THIRD PERIOD
Scoring
: 8. Thunder Bay, Brown 28 (Gerrie) 1:59. 9. Thunder Bay, Brown 29 (Gerrie, Willan) 7:12. 10. Thunder Bay, Auger 32 (unassisted) 9:58. 11. Auger 33 (B. Erwin) 13:24. 12. Thunder Bay, Bryant (unassisted) 13:59. 13. Thunder Bay, Stubbs (Willan, Brown) 16:07. 14. Thunder Bay, Mignault 49 (Brown) 19:31. Penalties: None.

GAME DATASOG – Minnesota 3-11-4-18g, Thunder Bay 20-22-18-60; Power plays (goals-chances) – Minnesota (0-2), Thunder Bay (0-0); Goaltenders – Nick Corneliusen, Thunder Bay: Brock Aiken; A:200.



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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