Although they automatically have a spot in the upcoming Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Thunder Bay North Stars still want to prove they should be there.
The Central Canada Junior A Championship series is coming to Thunder Bay April 17 to 21. It features the winners of the Superior International, Ontario and Northern Ontario Junior hockey leagues and a host team, which this year is the North Stars.
But coming of a four-game SIJHL quarter-final sweep of the Duluth Clydesdales Wednesday night, the team is on its way to having a spot in this year’s Dudley no matter where it would have been held.
“We want to earn our way in we don’t just want to be given the spot,” coach Lonny Bohonos said Thursday afternoon at a Dudley Hewitt Cup meet-and-greet.
Captain Sam Dubinsky said earning their spot in the series has been a team goal all year long.
Because they will be facing Ontario’s top teams, the North Stars need to be one as well. And while the Stars have fresh confidence coming off of their road win, they’re not taking anything for granted.
“There’s always room for improvement,” Dubinsky said. “There’s no perfect team.”
While the Stars wait to see whether they’ll face Fort Frances or Wisconsin on the ice in the semis, the Stars and its crew have been busy getting things together off-ice in an effort to drum up support for the team and the upcoming Dudley. Dubinsky said the event is going to be great for the players and Thunder Bay in general.
“It’ll get us on the map that’s for sure,” he said.
Tickets for the Dudley are on sale now at the Fort William Gardens. Event co-chair Rob Monty said the packages, which feature six flex tickets and a ticket for both semi-final and final games, are starting to sell well.
“Once we started to get the community involved things started to pickup and it’s just been rolling along ever since,” he said.
The winner of the Dudley will represent Central Canada at National Championship Royal Bank Cup in Humboldt, Sask.
