The Thunder Bay North Stars drew what is, on paper at least, the tougher of two possible semifinal matchups.
The Superior International Junior Hockey League club will have their playoff run start to get series when they take on the No. 3 Minnesota Iron Rangers in their league semifinal.
The No. 2 North Stars opened their playoffs with a two-game total goals series against the No. 1 Fort Frances Lakers with the winner earning the right to choose their next opponent.
After winning the first game 4-3, Thunder Bay dropped a 3-0 decision on Friday night in Fort Frances to concede the series.
The Lakers opted to play the winner of the quarterfinal series between the English River Miners and Dryden Ice Dogs. English River currently leads that best-of-7 series by a 3-2 margin.
Thunder Bay compiled a 5-3-3 regular season mark against the Iron Rangers but six of those games were decided by one goal.
The dates of the semifinal series haven’t been released.
