The Thunder Bay Kings are one step closer to a spot in the Telus Cup.
The major midget Kings recorded a 4-1 victory over the Kenora Thistles in the deciding Game 3 of their Northwestern Ontario regional final at the Fort William First Nations Arena on Sunday.
The Kings outclassed the visitors in the winner-take-all affair right from the opening puck drop, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after the first period courtesy of goals from Laine McKay and Daniel McKitrick.
Kenora trimmed the deficit in half in the second period with captain Eric Sinclair solving Kings goaltender Brad Hampton.
That was the lone blemish on Hampton’s record, as he stopped 16 shots en route to picking up the win.
Jake Behse provided insurance for his side in the third before John Parrott put the icing on the cake with an empty netter.
Thistles goalie Ben Dennis made 32 saves in the losing effort.
After dropping the opening game of the series 2-0 on Friday, Thunder Bay responded by winning the next two against the threat of elimination. This was the fourth straight year the series between the two squads went the distance.
The Kings will next compete in the Western Regionals in Prince Arthur, Sask. against the Manitoba and Saskatchewan champions, as well as the host Prince Arthur team. The winner of that advances to the Telus Cup, the national championship for midget hockey.
Both the bantam and peewee Kings swept the NWO All-Stars in their respective series.
