Todd Howarth knows how to win, and that’s just what he did in his return as coach of the Thunder Bay North Stars.
Howarth, fired last January, took over the reins this week after the Superior International Junior Hockey League team parted ways with first-year coach Kevin Kahoot, who also happens to be the mayor of Ear Falls, Ont.
Wade Garbett scored twice for the Stars, including the eventual winner on the power play 13:10 into the second as Thunder Bay snapped a three-game slide Friday night with a 4-2 over the visiting Dryden Ice Dogs at Fort William Gardens.
Matt Kaarela scored the other Thunder Bay goal at the 11-minute mark of the third.
Tyler Newsome and Chris Belhumeur, both on the power play, were the Dryden goal-scorers.
The Stars and Ice Dogs meet again on Saturday night.