THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay North Stars didn’t do themselves any favours in the standings on Thursday night.
The Stars, with a tenuous hold on second place in the Superior International Junior Hockey League, dropped an 8-5 home-ice decision to the Fort Frances Lakers, the visiting team scoring four straight to pull away after Thunder Bay had erased an early 3-0 deficit.
Matt Tustin scored twice and added a pair of assists for the fourth-place Lakers (24-23-6), while Ian Jarvis and Dylan Kooner chipped in a pair of tallies apiece.
Avery Siau had two goals and Ryan Walsh picked up three helpers for the Stars (29-17-6), who scored three times in the first 4:16 of the second to even the score 3-3.
But Jarvis, Tustin and Kooner each scored within a five-minute span in the final six minutes of the middle stanza to take a commanding 6-3 lead.
Brad Thrower, Nichola Nigro and Aaron Wesley-Chisel scored Thunder Bay’s other goals.
Jordan Elliott only managed 14 saves on 22 shots in taking the loss.
The North Stars have 64 points, two more than third-place English River and three more than expansion Thief River Falls.
The two teams will play again on Friday night at Fort William Gardens. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
