The Thunder Bay North Stars got off to a fast start on Friday night.
It was the finish that killed them.
Austin Frank scored a pair of goals and added an assist and Joey Haydock scored once and assisted on three others to lead the Minnesota Iron Rangers to a 6-3 trouncing, a win aided by three power play goals.
The Stars (14-13-0) opened a 1-0 lead 76 seconds into the contest, but discipline ultimately cost them a chance as they spent nearly four minutes in the second period on a 5-on-3 disadvantage, a situation made worse when Cody Lacasse cross checked Minnesota captain Trevor Noth into the boards, finishing his night with a suspected broken collarbone.
“It’s tough when you’re killing for as long as we did,” said assistant coach Jordan Smith, the ex-Thunderwolves star filling in for an ailing Todd Howarth behind the North Stars bench.
“We gave them the one goal on the two-man advantage, but I thought we answered well. We scored right away after the kill. But you can’t give them that many opportunities and quite frankly we have to be better all the way around.”
Though not happy at losing Noth, who’s second on the Rangers with 10 goals and third with 20 points, Minnesota coach Chris Walby was happy with the result, the victory pushing the Rangers above .500 at 13-12-1.
“It’s a tough place to play and this is a tough team we haven’t beaten yet,” said Walby, seeking out a warmer spot at Fort William Gardens to conduct the post-game interview. “We’re on a mission to come up here and take Game 1.
“We had some stuff we had to battle through and it wasn’t easy. In the third period we came out and wanted to finish the job, finish what we started. And I’m proud of my boys because we did,” Walby said.
Thunder Bay’s Mathias Gardiman netted the opening goal, beating Minnesota’s Chase Hollander for the early 1-0 North Stars lead. But Frank responded seven minutes later on the power play, tipping a shot from just inside the blueline past North Star netminder Joseph Lynch.
Frank potted his second, again on the power play, at 8:46 of the second, with two North Stars in the box, but Matt Kaarela who led Thunder Bay with a goal and an assist, netted the equalizer at 15:53, lifting the puck over a sprawling Hollander who had no chance to make the save.
But Brandyn Dahlquist had the response less than two minutes later, going back-door on Lynch, completing a pretty three-way passing play at 17:10 of the second that put the Iron Rangers ahead for good.
Nick Le Sage doubled the lead to 4-2 early in the second, again on the power play, followed four minutes later by a Jay Routheau tally.
Wade Garbett pulled the Stars to within a pair at 12:20, but Haydock found the empty net with one second on the clock.
The two teams will hook up for a Saturday rematch at the Gardens.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Thunder Bay, Gardiman (Kaarela) 1:16, 2. Minnesota, Frank (Haydock, LeSage) 8:29 pp. Penalties: Robertson MIN, Kahoot TB (roughing) 3:12, Haydock MIN (high sticking) 4:42, Bench Minor TB (too many men, served by Brown) 7:54, Kaarela TB (cross checking) 12:05, Routheau MIN (spearing) 13:38, Hynnes TB (slashing) 17:46.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Minnesota, Frank (Karakas, Losurdo) 8:46 pp. 4. Thunder Bay, Kaarela (Hynnes, Martyn) 15:53. 5. Minnesota, Dahlquist (Holcombe, Routheau) 17:10. Penalties: Hynnes TB (goaltender interference) 7:04, Howarth TB (double minor, high sticking) 7:13, Lacasse TB (cross checking major, game misconduct) 8:27, Kellaway TB (delay of game) 10:30, Routheau MIN (cross checking) 11:09.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 6. Minnesota, Le Sage (Haydock, Frank) 5:33 pp. 7. Minnesota, Routheau (Haydock) 9:09. 8. Thunder Bay, Garbett (Kellaway, Brown) 12:20. 9. Minnesota, Haydock () 19:59. Penalties: Cavar TB (interference) 4:49, Robertson MIN (cross checking) Howarth TB (roughing) 9:22, Kaarela TB (cross checking) 13:07, Gregory MIN (slashing) 10:02, Dahlquist MIN (slashing) 13:50, Daly MIN (interference) 17:32.
GAME DATA – SOG – Minnesota 9-14-7-27, Thunder Bay 12-8-7-30; Power plays (goals-chances) – Minnesota (3-7), Thunder Bay (0-2); Goaltenders – Minnesota: Chase Hollander, Thunder Bay: Joseph Lynch; A: 300 (estimated).
