SPOONER, Wisc. – The Wisconsin Lumberjacks are suddenly the hottest team in the Superior International Junior Hockey League.
Salvatore Poggiali scored the only goal of the shootout on Friday night and edged the visiting Thunder Bay North Stars 6-5, picking up their third straight victory in the process.
Less than six minutes into the second the Lumberjacks trailed 4-2, but Ryder McMillen, Jake McCall and Poggiali scored three straight, the latter two in the back half of the third, to give Wisconsin a 5-4 edge. Thunder Bay captain Hunter Foreshew sent the game to overtime with his 23td of the season with 1:50 left in regulation.
Brock Wiemer, and McMillen, with his first of two on the night, had the other Wisconsin goals. Edison Weeks, Mason Wesley, William Demkiw and Ryder McMillen had the other North Stars tallies.
Tannis Riley made 44 stops, but took the loss, while Kyler Lowden made an equal number of saves in picking up the victory.
The Stars, winners of just two of their last 10 outings, fell to 17-14-4, in their first shootout loss of 2021-22, while Wisconsin improved to 14-23-2. The two teams will try again on Saturday night.
Scheduled games between Dryden and Red Lake and Kam River and Fort Frances were postponed.
