DRYDEN, Ont. – The Thunder Bay North Stars have evened their best-of-seven Bill Salonen Cup final with the top-ranked Dryden Ice Dogs.
Troy Sherman scored the winner in the third period on Sunday night, as Thunder Bay secured the split on the road, edging the Ice Dog 3-2.
Dryden led 2-0 in the second on goals from Trevor Kavanaugh and former Star Kris Hamlin, but Thunder Bay scored twice in a 2:25 span to even things up. Bradley Thrower netted his sixth of the post-season at 7:36 of the middle stanza and Ryan Mignault ripped one just under the cross bar at the midway point of the period to tie the game 2-2.
Brandon Bodnar made 38 saves for Thunder Bay, while Landon Pavlisin was good on 32 of the 35 shots he faced.
The series shifts to Thunder Bay for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday night.