Todd Howarth’s second game back behind the Thunder Bay North Stars bench wasn’t quite as successful as his first.
The Stars found themselves in penalty trouble much of Saturday night and power-play goals by Len Pelletier in the first and Ryan Court in the second proved to be the difference as the Dryden Ice Dogs handed the resurrected Howarth his first loss in his much-heralded return as Thunder Bay coach.
Chris Belhumeur added an insurance goal late in the third to cap the 3-1 triumph.
Cary Brown scored the lone goal for the Stars, who rode a stellar goaltending from midget ‘AA’ affiliate netminder Eric Oullett.
Oullett stopped at least four breakaway opportunities afforded the Ice Dogs.
“He definitely deserved better,” a subdued Howarth said after the game. “You know, he made lots of big saves, just like their goalie. I’m very proud of him. I told him he did a great job.”
Ouellett was particularly brilliant in the second, when he stopped Jesse Linner on a partial breakaway, then did the same to Court, who stepped out of the box and took a lead pass from Belhumeur and went in alone on the rookie goalie.
But Oullett couldn’t overcome the penalty woes, Howarth said, biting his tongue when asked about the officiating.
“I just thought the turning point of the game was maybe when (Matt) Kaarela got kicked out. I thought that could have been a four-minute penalty, not a five-minute major, but it is what it is and we just deal with it. I thought the rest of the team kind of stepped up to the play. We’re starting to get healthy now and we’re only going to get better.”
Already down 1-0 after Pelletier beat Oullett midway through the first, Kaarela was booted out after cross-checking an Ice Dogs player already on his knees, setting up what proved to be a three-minute power play for Dryden, one they’d capitalize on.
Ouellett was caught going the other way and Rory Court made him pay, bashing the puck into the open net at 12:53 of the second, one of the few miscues the Fort William Canadians goalie made on the night.
All in all Ouellett, who was forced into action Friday night when starter Jayme Brattengeier went down with a shoulder injury, was happy with his performance.
“There’s huge expectations, but this is what I want to do and this is my shot,” the 16-year-old said. “So I’m going to take it. I did what I could, anyway. Unfortunately we didn’t get the bounces or else we would have won.”
It’s those bounces Howarth wants to reverse on Sunday in Duluth, but in spite of taking the loss, he was happy with the effort he saw, just three days after taking the reins of the team from the departed Kevin Kahoot.
“My team played fantastic last night. We ran out of gas in the third period. But tonight I though we got stronger as the game when along. I thought we had a whole lot of quality chances that we just didn’t bear down on. And I thought their goalie made some huge saves, some seeing-eye shots that hit the nozzle of his stick. We had some great plays and I thought my guys played hard to the end,” said Howarth, who has completely revamped the playbook since taking over and admitted it will take time for his players to adapt – at least those who haven’t played for the veteran coach before.
“I can’t complain on what they’re doing. That team has been together all year and I’ve only been with these kids three days, changed the whole system, changed everything. I thought they were great … Some of it’s pretty complicated and they’re understanding it. It’s just trying to do it on the ice all the time.”
Star gazing: Howarth's son Isaac, who played for the Stars last season, is back in the Thunder Bay lineup ... Howarth said he didn't step foot in a rink this season and hadn't seen the North Stars play since last season's Dudley Hewitt Cup ... Former Thunderwolves captain Jordan Smith has joined the team as an assistant. Jason Firth is also expected back in a similar role in the near future.