THUNDER BAY – It took Michael Stubbs a little while to get going in his debut season with the Thunder Bay North Stars.
Twelve games into his junior career and the 16-year-old forward had just two goals to show, despite being a late-round pick of the Ontario Hockey League’s Mississauga Steelheads, looking to eventually make the jump to major junior.
If his play of late is any indication, odds are he’ll get there sooner, rather than later.
Stubbs has 10 goals and 17 points in 18 games and scored two more times on Friday night to stretch his goal-scoring streak to six, adding a pair of helpers to lead Thunder Bay to a 9-4 win over the second-place Red Lake Miners at Fort William Gardens.
“It’s all credit to my line-mates. You’ve got two guys like Ryan Mignault and Brendan Gillis on both sides of you, those guys can move and think the game unlike anyone else. It just makes putting the puck in the net easy when they can find you in the right spots every time you’re out there.”
Stubbs, who attended Mississauga’s training camp and is an affiliate with the OHL club, said he learned a lot from his short time with the team.
“They taught me so much about junior hockey. I couldn’t thank them enough for the success I’ve been having this year. All credit to them for helping put me on the right path,” he said.
“I’m in it to make the Ontario Hockey League one day, but for now we’re in it one day at a time and we’re going to try to win the Bill Salonen Trophy. That’s all the goal is for this year."
North Stars coach Rob DeGagne, who returned behind the bench after missing Wednesday night’s contest because of illness, said Stubbs has been one of his top players of late.
He understands the slow start.
“When he was in Mississauga, he didn’t play. He was down there and practicing, and practicing is a little different than playing,” DeGagne said. “It took him a little while to get going, but boy he plays a great 200-foot game and arguably right now he’s one of our best players, if not our best player.
“He’s had five or six really good games. We put him with some guys he can have a little bit of success with, with Mignault and Gillis, and it seems to have lit a fire under all of them.”
Stubbs first of the game staked the Stars to a 2-0 lead in the first, an advantage that quickly evaporated when the Miners Shaye Somerfeld and Keegan Tiringer scored five minutes apart on Thunder Bay starter Dougie Newhouse.
But 45 seconds later Kyle Auger pushed the puck past Red Lake goalie Vince Benedetto, giving the North Stars a 3-2 lead they’d never relinquish.
Josh Bryant scored 10 seconds into the second and Mignault followed with his 32nd of the season three minutes later, Stubbs making it 6-2 with just over four minutes to go in the period.
Jacob Brown made it 7-2 with four to go in the middle frame, one of five power-play goals the Stars scored on the night.
Red Lake scored twice in the opening 62 seconds of the third, Sommerfeld notching his second of the night, Kyle Uzelman chasing Newhouse 10 seconds later. Brock Aiken took over in the Thunder Bay net and stopped all nine shots he faced.
“I wanted to light a fire under them,” DeGagne said, explaining the move.
Ben Erwin and Mignault, with his second of the night and team-leading 33rd of the season, rounded out the scoring for Thunder Bay.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday night.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Thunder Bay, Brown 5 (Willan, Auger) 1:44 pp. 2. Thunder Bay, Stubbs 9 (unassisted) 3:24. 3. Red Lake, Sommerfeld 9 (Milne, Di Lullo) 10:55, 4. Red Lake, Tiringer 7 (Sommerfeld, Bohnet) 16:04. 5. Thunder Bay, Auger 15 (Mignault, Stubbs) 16:49 pp. Penalties: Gula RLM (boarding), Stubbs TB 15:15, Patterson RLM (hooking) 16:31, Lawrence RLM (slashing) 17:39, Auger TB (high sticking) 17:39.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 6. Thunder Bay, Bryant 7 (unassisted) 0:10. 7. Thunder Bay, Mignault 32 (Auger, Bryant) 3:21 pp. 8. Thunder Bay, Stubbs 10 (Auger, Mignault) 15:53. 9. Thunder Bay, Brown 6 (Gerrie, Willan) 16:03 pp. Penalties: Krawiec RLM (cross checking) 2:35, Lawrence RLM (hooking) 2:54, Nicholas RLM, Nicholas TB (roughing), Mrakic TB (unsportsmanlike conduct), Siau TB (gross misconduct) 6:50, Di Lullo RLM (cross checking, roughing), Turbide TB (roughing) 9:14, Bohnet RLM (high sticking) 15:11, Jacobs RLM (cross checking) 16:45.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring:10. Red Lake, Sommerfeld 10 (Milne, Di Lullo) 0:42. 11. Red Lake Uzelman 8 (Baranesky, Young) 1:02. 12. Thunder Bay, B. Erwin 17 (Tyska, Auger) 13:25. 13. Thunder Bay, Mignault (Stubbs, Gillis) 16:35 .Penalties: Mignault TB (cross checking) 6:46, Fortin TB (holding) 7:47, Krawiec RLM (high sticking) 14:16, Turbide TB (unsportsmanlike conduct), Jacobs RM (cross checking) 17:08. Bohnet RLM (roughing), Gula RLM (roughing), Auger TB (cross checking), Halushak TB (roughing), WIllan TB (roughing) 19:05.
GAME DATA – SOG – Red Lake 11-11-11-33, Thunder Bay 15-23-15-53; Power plays (goals-chances) – Red Lake (1-4), Thunder Bay (5-9); Goaltenders – Red Lake: Vince Benedetto, Thunder Bay: Dougie Newhouse (24 shots, 20 saves), Brock Aiken (1:02, third); A: 337.
