It’s 14 seconds the Thunder Bay North Stars would like to have back.
Nick Le Sage and Max Seiter scored twice in that span late in the second period Saturday night, propelling the Minnesota Iron Rangers to a 3-1 win, completing a weekend sweep at Fort William Gardens.
Once again the North Stars scored first, Trevor Hynnes tallying shorthanded in a pileup in front of Minnesota goalie Joey Rebedew with 63 seconds left in the first. But once again the Stars couldn’t hold the tenuous 1-0 lead.
“We had another great start and we did exactly what we talked about what we wanted to do. But we didn’t have a consistent effort throughout the hockey game and we’re not a good enough team to win when you only put in 45 minutes,” said assistant coach Jordan Smith, filling in for flu-stricken head coach Todd Howarth for a second straight night.
“Not many teams are. But again, for the second night in a row we let them off the hook. We gave them easy goals. We did some good things, but in the end we didn’t do enough to win.”
Smith said it comes back to creating offensive chances. The Stars shoot for 40 shots on the opposition net each night, but only managed 28 against the Iron Rangers (14-12-1), who jumped ahead of the North Stars (14-13-0) in the Superior International Junior Hockey League standings.
“I thought we cycled well in the offensive zone, we had good zone time, but we couldn’t generate anything towards the net. Again, we didn’t fire enough shots.”
For a second straight night the Stars didn’t do themselves any favours.
Two of the four Iron Rangers goals came on the power play, and when Thunder Bay was pressing to erase a two-goal deficit late in the third, first goalie Jayme Brattengeier and then Cary Brown, took slashing calls, leaving the Stars shorthanded at a crucial point in the contest.
Minnesota coach Chris Walby, who cleaned house when new owners took over the former Iron Range Ironheads franchise last summer, said leaving Thunder Bay with four points is a fantastic weekend.
“We got pumped by these guys the first three times we played them. We’ve come a long way. The boys have been working hard. They’ve bought into the systems and they keep developing every single day. Walking away from a weekend like this with two wins, that just shows how well we’ve been coming along,” said Walby, a former winger in the United States Hockey League in the mid-‘90s.
It was a battle all the way, as the offence struggled to figure out Brattengeier for the first half of the game.
Joey Haydock tied the game on the power play early in the second, slipping a one-timer past Brattengeier at the 3:26 mark.
Nick Le Sage scored what proved to be the winner on the power play, rifling a shot through traffic that may have changed directions, and before the goal was even announced, Max Seiter struck again on a wraparound, pushing the Iron Rangers lead to two.
“The grind line actually called it before they went out on the ice. ‘The grind line’s getting one right now.’ And it was a total grind goal too, one where he just kept slamming and slamming until it went home,” Walby said.
Haydock added a long empty-netter late in the third.
The Stars are back on the ice at home on Wednesday against Duluth.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Thunder Bay Hynnes (Kaarela) 18:57 sh. Penalties: Robertson MIN (delay of game) 2:42, Adimson TB (interference) 6:09, Haydock MIN (interference) 6:56, Garbett TB (tripping) 12:27, Holcombe MIN (boarding) 16:42, Howarth TB (slashing) 18:11.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Minnesota, Haydock (Frank, Karakas) 3:26 pp. 3. Minnesota, Le Sage (Frank, Karakas) 16:24 pp. 4. Minnesota, Seiter (Holcombe) 16:38. Penalties: Tuneberg (misconduct) 2:27, Kellaway TB (tripping) 3:02, Lahti MIN (tripping) 3:50, Dahlquist MIN (hooking) 10:50, Hynnes TB (high sticking) 15:09, Le Sage MIN (holding), Hynnes TB (roughing, unsportsmanlike conduct) 20:00.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 5. Minnesota, Haydock (unassisted) 19:24 en. Penalties: Karakas MIN (slashing) 8:49, Brattengeier TB (slashing, served by Lacroix) 11:55, Brown TB (slashing, misconduct) 13:59.
GAME DATA – SOG – Minnesota 9-10-7-26, Thunder Bay 8-10-10-28; Power plays (goals-chances) – Minnesota (2-8), Thunder Bay (0-6); Goaltenders – Minnesota: Joey Rebedew, Thunder Bay: Jayme Brattengeier; A: 350 (estimated).
