THUNDER BAY – Jacob Anntonen did what hockey players are taught to do – he went to the net.
It paid off.
The Thunder Bay North Stars forward managed to get a stick on a Nikolas Campbell shot and redirect it past Wisconsin Lumberjacks goaltender Nathan Mueller with 61 seconds left in regulation on Wednesday night, earning his team a hard-fought 5-4, come-from-behind mid-week triumph at Fort William Gardens.
The on-ice officials took a few minutes to determine whether or not Anttonen’s stick was above the cross bar or not, ultimately deciding the goal was good.
It was the fourth goal the North Stars scored in the final stanza, erasing a 3-1 Wisconsin lead to capture their eighth win in nine games and remain perfect at home in 2019-20, where they boast a 6-0-0 record.
“Soupy took the shot and I felt lucky to get my stick on it,” said Anttonen, who has seven goals 10-1-1 North Stars.
“It went down, right through his five-hole and got the boys going.”
It capped a remarkable comeback for a team that found itself in costly penalty trouble in the early stages of the contest, the Lumberjacks scoring a trio of power play markers, two in the first and the third off the stick of Dalton Garcia, with 14 seconds to go in the period.
“During the second intermission we kind of talked with the boys and told ourselves that that’s not how we play. We kind of smartened up, played our game and came back and got the win.”
Anttonen wouldn’t have been in the position to net the game-winner if it wasn’t for teammate Jacob Brown.
Brown scored twice, getting the Stars on the board on the power play three minutes into the second, pulling them to within a goal again 1:36 into the third.
“We came out slow and we didn’t really have the jump that we normally do,” said Brown, who upped his season total to 10 goals.
“In the third period we kind of found it and it showed. We came back and won a good game.”
Cade Moreland struck first for the expansion Lumberjacks (3-10-1), who dropped a fourth straight decision.
Moreland fired a high, hard wrist shot that sailed past Jordan Smith and into the Thunder Bay net with 5:47 to go in the first. Ryan Green doubled the Wisconsin lead 1:38 later, Kyler Belluz serving a minor for interference.
Brown and Garcia traded goals in the second and the North Stars came out guns a blazing to start the third. After Brown cut the Lumberjacks lead to one, captain Logan Mihalcin potted his second of the season at the 4:03 mark, tying the game 3-3.
Nicholas Solema edged Wisconsin out in front just shy of the midway point of the period, but Cody Bruchkowski pounced on his own rebound with 3:42 left in regulation to even the game once more.
The end result was good, but getting there was rocky, said coach Rob DeGagne.
"We have to make sure we play 60 minutes of hockey," DeGagne said. "We're making it hard on ourselves. But, good teams find a way to win and we seemed to find a way to win. We can't do that against any team in our league.
Thunder Bay outshot Wisconsin 40-39 on the night.
The North Stars head to Fort Frances on Friday night and the two teams will match up again on Saturday at the Gardens.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Wisconsin, Moreland (Matthews, LaPorte) 14:13 pp. 2. Wisconsin, Green (Turnbull, Birkeland) 15:51 pp. Penalties: Garcia WIS (hooking) 5:31, B. Erwin TB (tripping) 11:16, Privitera TB (boarding) 13:55, Belluz TB (interference) 14:13,
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Thunder Bay, Brown 9 (Fortin, Willan) 3:03 pp. 4. Wisconsin, Garcia 4 (LaPorte, Moreland) 19:46 pp. Penalties: Green WIS (tripping) 1:42, Fortin TB (holding) 10:34, Mrakic TB (high sticking) 12:03, Hunt WIS (holding) 16:50, Brown TB (boarding) 19:06.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 5. Thunder Bay, Brown 10 (Willan, Mihalcin) 1:36. 6. Thunder Bay, Mihalcin 2 (Young, Anttonen) 4:03. 7. Wisconsin, Solema 3 (Bocken, Shetand) 9:45. 8. Thunder Bay, Bruchkowski 11 (Mihalcin, Brown) 16:18. 9. Thunder Bay, Anttonen 7 (Campbell) 18:59. Penalties: Anttonen TB (holding the stick), Matthews WIS (roughing) 8:37, Nicholas TB (hooking) 11:27, Lundgren WIS (holding), Mihalcin (misconduct) 16:51.
GAME DATA – SOG – Wisconsin 19-10-10-29, Thunder Bay 14-8-18-40; Power plays (goals-chances) – Wisconsin (3-7), Thunder Bay (1-4); Goaltenders – Wisconsin: Nathan Mueller, Thunder Bay: Jordan Smith; A: 186.
