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North Stars take series lead in old-school Game 3

Ryan Mignault nets second-period winner in a game between two teams that don't play nicely together.

THUNDER BAY – There’s no love lost between the Dryden Ice Dogs and the Thunder Bay North Stars.

That was plenty evident on Tuesday night at Fort William Gardens, where the two teams smashed and crashed for 60 minutes, then tried to carry it over into the hallway after the horn sounded on Thunder Bay’s 2-1 come-from-behind triumph, giving them a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Bill Salonen Cup final.

It was an old-school kind of game, said North Stars coach Rob DeGagne, who would rather his team relied on its skill instead of its fists, but stressed they won’t back down if the Ice Dogs want to play a rough-and-tumble game.

If that’s what they want, that’s what they’ll get, DeGagne said.

“It was old donnybrook hockey there,” the first-year bench boss said.

“We’re playing into their hands, but if the referees are going to let them do whatever they wanted to do, we’ve got to fight back. That’s not our style of hockey, but that’s the way they’re playing, so we almost have to play, in some ways, a little like that. We can’t just let them run us through the boards.”

Bring it on, said defenceman Kyle Auger, who served up helpers on both North Stars goals and rang one of off the post in the third, Thunder Bay desperately seeking an insurance marker to send the season-high crowd of 1,380 home happy.

“I think a lot of guys enjoy it,” said Auger, explaining the situation under the stands erupted when Dryden coach Kurt Walsten started getting in the face of the already-suspended North Stars forward Avery Siau’s.

Siau, late in the contest, sauntered up to the penalty box to taunt Dryden’s Matthew Pitchenese, who slammed open the barrier separating the sin bin from the stands trying to get at his tormenter.

As he entered the box, Pitchenese turned and pointed at SIJHL commissioner Bryan Graham, who was watching from his perch in the press box -- the second Ice Dogs player to do so in the third.

“Even if (Avery) gets suspended, he was sticking up for our team and our team won,” Auger said.

For a third straight game the North Stars surrendered the first goal, Dryden’s Trey Palermo knocking it past Brandon Bodnar four minutes into the contest, the only goal of the opening period.

Logan Mihalcin evened the score 85 seconds into the second, firing a high wrist shot that found its way through traffic and behind Ice Dogs goalie Landon Pavlisin, who stopped 49 shots on the night.

The Stars took the lead for good on the power play – one of 13 they enjoyed on the night – Ryan Mignault jumping on a rebound for his eighth of the post-season, the goal coming at 8:55 of the middle stanza.

He’d prefer a quicker start, but will take the win no matter how it happens.

“I think we start a little slow. We have a tendency of doing that. But toward the second period we kick it up a notch,” Mignault said.

“We’ve been getting away with starting up in the second and getting a quick couple of goals to give us the lead.”

The Stars will seek win No. 3 on Wednesday night at home, knowing it’ll put them in the driver’s seat in a series that’s seen all three games decided by a single goal.

“We’re just trying to stay focused on the next game. We want to take this as quick as we can. Home-ice advantage is big for us. Nobody beats us at home,” said Bodnar, whose best save came against SIJHL most valuable player Jacen Bracko from point-blank range in the second.

Game time on Wednesday night is 7:30 p.m.

FIRST PERIOD
Scoring
: 1 Dryden, Palermo 2 (Knott, Jay) 4:07. Penalties: Lux DRY (check to the head, misconduct) 11:27, Santalucia DRY (slashing), Santin TB (cross checking, roughing) 11:57, Knott DRY (boarding) 16:45, Jay DRY (high sticking) 17:57.

SECOND PERIOD
Scoring
: 2. Thunder Bay, Mihalcin 2 (Mignault, Auger) 1:25. 3. Thunder Bay, Mignault 8 (Santin, Auger) 8:55 pp. Penalties: Jay DRY (holding) 2:25, Huemmert DRY (high sticking, misconduct), Behse TB (misconduct) 7:51, Kavanagh DRY (slashing) 8:55, Mowatt DRY (tripping) 11:16, Mihalcin TB (boarding) 12:45, Newhouse TB (slashing) 14:40, Thrower TB (cross checking) 17:51, Stout TB (roughing), Newhouse (roughing double minor) 18:39. 

THIRD PERIOD
Scoring
: Penalties: Gillis TB (cross checking) 1:36, Woods DRY (interference) 5:23, Jay DRY (holding) 7:11, Lux DRY (head contact, misconduct, misconduct, game misconduct), Jay DRY (misconduct) 12:23, Pitchenese DRY (boarding) 19:22, Bench minor TB (served by Anttonen) 20:00.

GAME DATASOG – Dryden 12-14-8-34, Thunder Bay 13-16-22-51; Power plays (goals-chances) – Dryden (0-6), Thunder Bay (1-13); Goaltenders – Dryden: Landon Pavlisin, Thunder Bay: Brandon Bodnar; A: 1,380.

 



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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