THUNDER BAY – It might not be the Thunder Bay North Stars top line on paper, but the Keighan Gerrie-Avery Siau-Alex Maticic combination is sure playing like a No. 1 unit of late.
The trio combined for four goals and 10 points on Saturday night, leading the Thunder Bay North Stars to a 7-3 win over the Minnesota Iron Rangers, a second straight triumph and a weekend sweep that propelled the Stars north of .500 again.
Gerrie scored twice and added a pair of helpers, while Maticic had a goal and three assists and Siau added one of each to lead the home side to the win, his fifth multiple-point game of the season.
Thirteen games intot the season, they’re not quite sure why success has come so easily.
Maticic, a former 20-goal scorer with the English River Miners who arrived in Thunder Bay earlier this season in a trade with the Melville Millionaires of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, said it’s just feels right.
“I think a lot of the success on our line is coming from the fact we’re all starting to click, we’re all working well and starting to create a lot of chemistry. The puck’s starting to go in and we’re all starting to generate points and offence,” said Maticic, a self-described grinder who leads the North Stars with 16 points in 12 appearances.
Gerrie, who tops the team with nine goals and has points in five straight, said it happened almost instantly.
“As soon as we were put together we had instant chemistry and we were just rolling all the time,” said Gerrie, a 12th-round pick of the London Knights last spring.
“We’re putting up some good numbers.”
It’s because of their work ethic, said first-year coach Rob DeGagne, adding it makes a world of difference.
“They play their positions, they work hard, they’re responsible defensively. It helps that Keighan’s offensive ability is second-to-none. He’s off the charts in some ways. But the other two guys really complement him. They work hard and they can finish too,” DeGagne said.
The Stars led 2-1 after one, Charlie Corness and Troy Sherman erasing Minnesota’s early 1-0 lead courtesy of Elias Thompson, who beat Doug Newhouse on the power play at 6:44 of the first.
The Iron Rangers waited just 14 seconds to tie things up in the second, Clayton Brown potting the equalizer. Sixty-one seconds later they were back on top, after Zac Horn pressed the puck past Newhouse to give the Iron Rangers a 3-2 lead.
It was all Thunder Bay from there on in.
Carter Pellerin tied it again 33 seconds later, backhanding it past Jordan Nelson, one of the 50 shots he’d face on the night.
Gerrie put the Stars ahead for good at 10:22 of the middle stanza, Thunder Bay’s second power play of the night.
It would stay that way until Siau went top shelf to make it 5-3 midway through third, Gerrie adding his second of the night two minutes later. Maticic wrapped up the offensive onslaught in the final minute of the period, his second effort resulting in his fourth goal of the campaign.
Newhouse made 21 saves to earn the win, helping the North Stars improve to 6-5-2. The cellar-dwelling Iron Rangers fell to 1-9-2.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Minnesota, Thompson 3 (unassisted) 6:44 pp. 2. Thunder Bay, Corness 2 (Thrower) 11:41 pp. 3. Thunder Bay, Sherman 6 (Belisle, Ward) 16:24. Penalties: Corness TB (tripping) 6:44, Emery MIN (hooking) 11:41, Montague MIN (hooking) 15:56, Sandberg TB (tripping) 18:56.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 4. Minnesota, Brown 4 (Kinsman) 0:14. 5. Minnesota, Horn 3 (Bomay, Litke) 1:15. 6. Thunder Bay, Pellerin 1 (Sandberg, Smith) 1:48. 7. Gerrie 8 (Maticic, Newhouse) 10:22 pp. Penalties: Ward TB (hooking) 5:01, Woodward MIN (roughing) 6:33, Bjorgo MIN (roughing) 10:11, Newhouse TB (hooking) 12:03, Pellerin TB (charging), Muir TB (roughing), Engdahl MIN (roughing, misconduct) 15:41.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 8. Thunder Bay, Siau 7 (Gerrie, Maticic) 8:50. 9. Thunder Bay, Gerrie 9 (Siau, Maticic) 13:26. 10. Thunder Bay, Maticic 4 (Gerrie, Newhouse) 19:17. Penalties: Woodward MIN (roughing, unsportsmanlike conduct, served by Maddy), Pellerin TB (roughing) 5:05, Gillis TB (slashing) 4:43, Emery MIN (intereference) 18:09.
GAME DATA – SOG – Minnesota 5-9-9-23, Thunder Bay 12-12-26-50; Power plays (goals-chances) – Minnesota (1-5), Thunder Bay (2-6); Goaltenders – Minnesota: Jordan Nelson, Thunder Bay: Doug Newhouse: A: 205.
