For most of the final 50 minutes on Friday night, the Thunder Bay North Stars outplayed the Fort Frances Lakers.
It’s the final dozen seconds or so they’d like back.
Affiliate player Matthew Glomba caught North Stars goalie Riley Corbin going in the wrong direction, netting the game-winner with less than 13 seconds to go, the nationally No. 5-ranked Lakers pulling out a 3-2 win in Thunder Bay’s regular-season finale at Fort William Gardens.
Like Don Adams’s Agent 86 used to say on Get Smart, they missed it by that much.
North Stars coach Jeremy Adduono said the winning goal wasn’t a breakdown or defensive miscue. The Lakers were just a smidge faster than his team.
“We actually had five guys close to where they were supposed to be and in position. We actually outnumbered them. A guy threw a desperation pass from the corner and it kind of got through our D in front,” Adduono said.
“Our off-side winger was coming down to help out and I don’t think Glomba got all wood on the shot. I think he fanned on it a little bit and it kind of hopped up on Corbin.”
The game itself was mostly meaningless.
The playoffs match-ups have been locked up for some time in the Superior International Junior Hockey League, the Stars destined to play Dryden in one semifinal, the Lakers the winner of the 4-5 play-in series between Minnesota and English River in the other.
But both sides played for stretches like the final postseason berth was still on the line and each team still had a shot.
Troy Sherman struck early for the home side, rifling a high hard wrist shot that whistled past Fort Frances goalie Pierce Dushenko at 3:35 of the first.
But the Lakers responded quickly, Andrew Willner netting his 22nd of the campaign just 64 seconds later. Four minutes after that Nick Minerva potted a power-play marker that put the Lakers (42-8-2) in front 2-1, an advantage they’d hold until 14:15 of the middle stanza, when Aaron Wesley-Chisel fired a long-distance blast that eluded Dushenko to send the game knotted at two headed to the third.
North Stars forward Avery Siau said the loss stung, but it’s not the end of the world for the North Stars (25-24-4), who climbed back above .500 with the victory.
“We played really well. It’s probably the toughest we’ve played them all year. We outshot them by at least 11 shots,” Siau said. “It’s tough when you get scored on with 12 seconds left, but we’ll learn from it and we’ll be better in the playoffs.”
Dushenko made 37 saves for the win, while Corbin turned aside 24 of 27 shots he faced.
Next up for the North Stars is a trip to Hoyt Lakes on Sunday, where they’ll take on the Minnesota Iron Rangers, a team they’ll also play on Tuesday and next Sunday to wrap up the 2015-16 campaign. The Lakers host English River next Friday and Saturday night.
