Skip to content

North Stars win in shootout

SIJHL MVP candidate Brad Thrower, rookie-of-the-year hopeful Keighan Gerrie deliver penalty-shot triumph.
Jake Behse Ian Tookenay
Thunder Bay's Jake Behse (left) chases down Fort Frances' Ian Tookenay in SIJHL play on Wednesday, March 14, 2018 at Fort William Gardens. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY – As far as the standings go, there's not much for the Thunder Bay North Stars to play for in their final three regular season games.

Locked into third and staring down a first-round matchup with the Minnesota Iron Rangers, one really couldn’t fault the Superior International Junior Hockey League club if they mailed it in for 180 minutes and readied themselves for the playoffs.

No one would bat an eye if coach Rob DeGagne suddenly decided to bench his top players this week, letting them catch their collective breath ahead of Monday’s post-season opener at home against the Iron Rangers.

But that’s not really this team’s style.

They want to win every night out, regardless of the circumstances.

On Wednesday it was a chance to extend their winning streak to six games.

They needed a shootout, but eked out a 3-2 shootout win at home, SIJHL most valuable player finalist Brad Thrower and rookie-of the-year candidate Keghan Gerrie putting pucks past Fort Frances Lakers goaltender Ismael Ralsten to secure the victory.

On Friday, when the former No.1-in-the-nation Thief River Falls Norskies invade the NorWest Arena, it’s a chance to help determine their own playoff fate, a win increasing the odds they’ll sink their opponent into second place in the standings and on a collision course for a second-round matchup against the North Stars.

It’s about going in on roll, said defenceman Kyle Auger, who scored a first-period tally from the right circle and assisted on Thunder Bay’s third-period go-ahead goal.

“Good teams find a way to win every night and we’ve been doing that since Christmas,” said Auger, who has 15 goals in 25 games since joining the team from the major junior ranks after the holiday break.

Thrower, who drew an assist on Auger’s goal to hit the 60-point mark, said it’s not necessarily about getting points to add to the team’s 37-12-5 record.

“It’s about playing the right way, getting into good habits so when playoff time comes we’re just ready to go,” the Thunder Bay native said.

What DeGagne doesn’t want to see is a repeat of the opening period going forward.

While the Stars struck first, a costly penalty late in the period opened the door for the Lakers to tie the game, Nick Lucas punching home his 18th of the season to even the score 1-1 after one.

“Our message was that you play like you practice and, we played tonight like we practiced last night. We did not have a good game tonight,” DeGagne said.

Ryan Mignault deposited a rebound behind Ralsten midway through the second to give the home side a 2-1 lead.

But they were unable to hold it in the third, Jack Dunnell roofing a quick shot past Brandon Bodnar with seven-and-change to go in the period.

The Stars hit three posts in the third and failed to convert on a penalty shot awarded to the usually reliable Avery Siau 6:43 into the frame.

Lucas had the best chance in overtime, stuffed by Bodnar on a breakway three-and-a-half minutes in.

Fifth-place Fort Frances (15-32-7) shot first in the shootout, Adam Withers ripping one high on the Thunder Bay goaltender, the lone goal Bodnar surrendered in the penalty-shot phase. 

He later stopped Ian Jarvis on a backhand attempt and then Jaedin Ness rang the equalizer off the crossbar to end the contest.

Bodnar stopped 29 shots, while Ralsten was good on 40 of the 42 he faced.

Notes: Friday and Saturday's games have been moved to the NorWest Arena, originally to accommodate the Hedley concert, which was later moved to the Community Auditorium. 



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
Read more



push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks