North Stars win fifth game in five nights

Five, games, five nights? No problem for the Thunder Bay North Stars.

Brandon Wolframe scored three goals and added a pair of assists for the streaking Stars, who completed a five-game road-trip with their fifth straight victory, a 7-2 decision over the Iron Range Ironheads.

Kyle Lapenskie had a pair of goals for the Stars, with singles going to Brandon Warmington and Cary Brown.
Casey Skolnik and Spencer Peratalo replied for the Ironheads.

With the win the Stars (28-28-5) opened up an eight-point cushion in third place in the Superior International Junior Hockey League Standings, thanks in part to Dryden's 6-5 loss to the fifth-place Sioux Lookout Flyers.

In other SIJHL news, the league announced its schedule on Tuesday.

The postseason begins on Feb. 27 when the No. 7 Iron Range Ironheads begin a best-of-three survivor series with the No. 6 seed, most likely the Duluth Clydesdales, for the right to continue.

The opening round, scheduled to start on March 2, will pit the Wisconsin Wilderness and Fort Frances Lakers, the top two team in the SIJHL, in the 1 vs. 2 Showdown. The winner earns the right to choose its opponent for the semifinal round.

The quarterfinals, featuring the No. 3 seed taking on the No. 6 seed and the No. 4 seed against the No. 5 seed, will run simultaneously.

The best-of-seven semifinals will start March 15, with the final scheduled to start March 29 and end April 11, six days ahead of the start of the Dudley Hewitt Cup on April 17 at Fort William Gardens.

Should the North Stars, the tournament host, win the SIJHL title, their opponent in the final will get the SIJHL bid.
As hosts, Thunder Bay gets an automatic entry into the provincial Junior A championship.