THUNDER BAY – Goals have been hard to come by of late for Thunder Bay North Stars blue-liner Kyle Auger.
The homegrown talent has been piling up the points, eight of them in his past five games heading into Wednesday’s meeting with the Minnesota Iron Rangers.
But he’s struggled to put the puck in the back of net, scoring just once in 13 appearances.
The slump is over – the Iron Rangers are usually a pretty good remedy, the Stars having outscored their opponent 74-7 in seven previous outings this season, outshooting them 460 to 160.
Auger scored a season-high four goals on Wednesday night, leading the host North Stars to a 13-0 win, a game that saw them outshoot the Iron Rangers 84-14, including a 37-2 margin in the third.
It felt good to find the back of the net, the all-star Auger said.
“I’ve definitely been in a slump,” said the 20-year-old Auger, the third-leading point-getter in the Superior International Junior Hockey League, who scored multiple goals in a game for just the second time in the season.
“I just think I wasn’t shooting the puck enough. I was dishing it too much. Tonight I had the mindset, not just because of the team it was, but I knew I’d get more chances than usual, so I decided to shoot it a bit more. Maybe I should shoot it all the time.”
Auger, who has 14 goals and 55 points in 29 games, said he was proud of how the North Stars played, especially with coach Rob DeGagne at home battling illness.
“I think we played really hard considering our coach was gone and maybe guys on other teams wouldn’t take it as serious without their coach there,” he said. “I’m pretty proud of everyone and really think we played well tonight.”
North Stars defenders scored six times in the game, Josh Bryant collecting his third and fourth goals of the season.
The two scored 1:18 apart in the first four minutes of the opening period to stake the home team to a 2-0 lead. Michael Stubbs took another 79 seconds to beat Iron Rangers goalie Synjen Amende, who lasted three minutes into the second, giving up seven goals on 31 shots. He’d add a second goal with nine seconds to go in the period.
It was rapid-fire offensive action again in the second, Auger, Alex Erwin and Jacob Anttonen scoring goals in a 1:12 span to chase Amende.
Replacement Nick Cornelisun steadied the ship for the rest of the second, Ryan Mignault supplying his lone blemish in the period. He finished with a goal and three assists.
The third was more of the same from Thunder Bay.
Brendan Gillis potted his 12th of the season on a vicious wrist shot from the right circle early in the third, Thunder Bay upping its lead to 9-0. It was a second straight stellar performance for the veteran forward, who had three points against Dryden in the North Stars previous game.
“It feels good, especially after not producing as much as I wanted to,” Gillis said. “A five-point game really helps the confidence, for sure.”
And that’s just what the Stars (27-2-2), winners of six straight, could use heading into a weekend home-ice battle against the second-place Red Lake Miners on Friday and Saturday night.
“Yeah, they’re the second-best team. It feels good to get some points for this big weekend coming up and hopefully it will carry on through the weekend,” Gillis said.
Auger, with two, Bryant and Michael Vecchio rounded out the third-period scoring.
Brock Aiken made 14 stops to earn his third shutout of the season. Minnesota dropped to 3-32-0.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Thunder Bay, Bryant 3 (Willan) 2:18. 2. Thunder Bay, Auger 11 (Halushak) 3:46. 3. Thunder Bay, Stubbs 7 (Gillis) 5:05. 4. Thunder Bay, Stubbs 8 (Willan, Gillis) 19:51. Penalties: Fortin TB (high sticking) 5:32.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring:5. Auger 12 (Mignault) 1:58. 6. Thunder Bay, A. Erwin, (Anttonen) 2:54. 7. Thunder Bay, Anttonen 8 (B. Erwin) 3:10. 8. Thunder Bay, Mignault 33 (Gillis, Auger) 4:41. Penalties: B. Erwin TB (roughing) 19:00.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 9. Thunder Bay, Gillis 12 (Mignault) 1:51. 10. Thunder Bay, Auger 13 (Halushak, Mignault) 4:36. 11. Thunder Bay, Vecchio (Halushak) 7:16. 12. Thunder Bay, Auger 14 (Bryant, Gillis) 18:02. 13. Thunder Bay, Bryant 4 (Tyska) 18:58. Penalties: Nicholas TB, Engdahl MIN (roughing double minors) 7:58, Birkeland MIN (hooking) 14:12.
GAME DATA – SOG – Minnesota 8-4-2-14, Thunder Bay 26-21-37-84; Power plays (goals-chances) – Minnesota (0-2), Thunder Bay (0-1); Goaltenders – Minnesota: Synjen Amende (31 shots, 24 saves), Nick Cornelisun (2:54, second), Thunder Bay: Brock Aiken; A: 126.
