Skip to content

North Stars double up Norskies in physical affair

Keighan Gerrie pots four, his fourth hat trick of the season, to lead Thunder Bay to an 8-4 triumph.

THUNDER BAY – It wasn’t the prettiest goal he’s ever scored, but Keighan Gerrie will take it.

The second-year Thunder Bay North Stars forward’s third-period shot kicked of the pads of Thief River Falls goalie Bailey Schmitz and ricocheted off Norskies defenceman Matt Boren. His third goal of the night – and 21st of the season – proved to be the difference as the Stars held on for a 8-4 win, the 11th straight for the No. 2 Junior A team in the country.

He’d add an insurance marker with 52 seconds to play in regulation, wrapping the puck into the mesh from behind the Thief River net.

It was the fourth hat trick and second four-goal game of the season for the 17-year-old, who has already caught the attention of at least one NCAA team, Ohio’s Bowling Green University.

“It always feels good. We got a new line-mate from Portage, Jacob Brown. We’ve been playing really well together, me, him and (Joel) Willan. Tonight I got a few lucky bounces. It went off them, went off their stick and their skate,” Gerrie said. “Things just went my way tonight.”

Brown, playing just his second game with the North Stars, has paid immediate dividends on the top line. The 19-year-old Thunder Bay native recorded his fourth goal and added an assist, giving him six points in two appearances.

North Stars coach Rob DeGagne, his team on a 10-game winning streak heading into Friday’s Fort William Gardens contest, shook up his top two lines, dropping leading goal-scorer Ryan Mignault to the second line alongside Avery Siau and Brendan Gillis to accommodate Brown's arrival.

“(Brown) really sees the ice really well, so they’re going to complement each other well – not that Mignault didn’t. Mignault does, but now it gives us some more scoring and some more depth on some different lines,” DeGagne said.

It certainly didn’t slow down Mignault, the North Stars captain.

He opened the scoring 4:33 into the first, converting the 2-on-1 pass from Gillis that Norskies goalie Bailey Schmitz had no chance to catch up with.

Sixty-six seconds later Gerrie netted his first of the night on a breakaway. He’d add one more before the period ended, the Stars up 3-0.

Blake Nelson finally got the Norskies on the board on the power play at 7:40 of the second, a goal that Brown quickly got back with an unassisted effort at 11:23.

Then Boe Bjorge went to work, scoring back-to-back goals 58 seconds apart in the final two minutes of the second, ripping the first short-side under the crossbar past Dougie Newhouse, and the Norskies trailed 4-3 after 40 minutes.

“It was nice to see Boe Bjorge and Blake Nelson tuck a couple in their, up tight across the bar, a couple of good looking goals. It’s nice to see our top guys producing against the top team. Obviously there’s room for improvement, but that’s why we’re only in mid-season,” said Norskies coach Wilson Housley.

Things got ugly in the second and third, the two teams taking liberties at each other’s expense. The Stars lost forward Jacob Anttonen in the middle stanza to a cross checking major and Alex Erwin was booted for a hit against Riley Bergland that left the Norskies forward with a badly injured right knee that required two of his teammates to help him off the ice.

DeGagne said he’d prefer his team to play a complete game and stay away from the rough stuff.

“We played two good periods,” he said. “We didn’t play a good second period. We lost our composure, we played undisciplined. That’s not our style of hockey. We’re not very good at trying to be tough.”

Gerrie scored twice in the third, Josh Bryant and Ben Erwin adding singles.

Alec Daman had other goal for Thief River Falls, who will try for the split on Saturday night.

FIRST PERIOD
Scoring
: 1. Thunder Bay, Mignault 23 (Gillis, Siau) 4:33, 2. Thunder Bay, Gerrie 19 (Auger) 5:39. 3. Thunder Bay, Gerrie 20 (Brown) 15:49. Penalties: Moreira TRF, Turbide TB (roughing double minors) 6:08, Nicholas TB (elbowing) 17:33.

SECOND PERIOD
Scoring
: 4. Thief River Falls, Nelson (Severson, Bowey) 7:40 pp. 5. Thunder Bay, Brown 4 (unassisted) 11:23. 6. Thief River Falls Bjorge 15 (Ross) 18:26. 7. Thief River Falls, Bjorge 16 (Nelson, Bowey) 19:24. Penalties: Bowery TRF (holding) 4:24, Daman TRF, Auger TB (misconduct) 4:58, Bryan TB (check to the head, misconduct) 5:43, Turbide TB (holding), 6:56, Severson TRF (unsportsmanlike conduct), Anttonen TB (cross checking major, game misconduct), Turbide TB (misconduct) 10:12, Halushak TB, Eischen TRF (roughing) 10:50.

THIRD PERIOD
Scoring
: 8. Thunder Bay, Gerrie 21 (unassisted) 1:44. 9. Thief River Falls, Daman (Steffan, Montoya) 5:13. 10. Thunder Bay, Bryant 4 (Auger) 11:30. 11. Thunder Bay, Gerrie 22 (unassisted) 19:08 en. 12. Thunder Bay, B. Erwin 15 (Halushak) 19:19. Penalties: Mrakic TB (tripping) 8:24, Daman TRF (slashing) 10:56, Eischen TRF (high sticking) 15:11, Brown TB (cross checking) 16:51, Turbide TB (misconduct, game misconduct) 17:46, A. Erwin TB (head contact major, game misconduct) 19:35.

GAME DATASOG – Thief River Falls 8-22-8-38, Thunder Bay 11-11-22-44; Power plays (goals-chances) – Thief River Falls (1-6), Thunder Bay (1-4); Goaltenders – Thief River Falls: Bailey Schmitz, Thunder Bay: Dougie Newhouse; A: 379.

 



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
Read more



Comments
push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks