Coach Jeremy Adduono says it doesn’t matter who you’re playing. If you cede an opponent a three-goal lead, it’s a tough hole to climb out from.
His Thunder Bay North Stars made a valiant effort Friday night, but ran out of steam late in the third period and were downed 7-4 by the visiting Dryden Ice Dogs, their second straight home-ice loss at Fort William Gardens.
Blake Peavey scored twice and added an assist for Dryden, while league-leading scorer Cole Golka tallied once and had a helper, becoming just the third Ice Dog, and 18th player in Superior International Junior Hockey League history, to hit the 40-goal mark.
“I’ll give them credit. They’re a good hockey team and they’ve got some good players there,” Adduono said.
“Golka, in my mind, one-on-one there’s nobody better in the league. They’ve got some dangerous players. They came out tonight, they were aggressive and maybe had us on our heels in the first.”
Dryden's Jonathan Philley was first to strike, beating Nathaniel Dupuis at the 7:26 mark of the opening stanza. Then the Stars got themselves into penalty trouble.
They managed to kill off a 67-second two-man disadvantage early in the period, but when it happened again the Ice Dogs power play was ready.
Golka wired his 40th of the season through traffic, Dupuis unable to see the puck as it soared past him into the net. Just 21 seconds later Peavey struck, converting Nick Prouty’s seeing-eye pass for a 3-0 lead with 4:12 left in the frame.
Thunder Bay captain Kris Kellway, who picked up a pair of assists, said the Wolves lost their heads for a little bit early on and it burnt them.
“We were doing things that were a little bit out of our character. I thought the boys battled hard. We stuck up for ourselves and stuck up for each other. It was just one of those games that was definitely tough to lose,” Kellaway said.
As bad as there start was, the North Stars (23-18-4) looked like a different team in the second, holding fourth-place Dryden (22-18-2) to just three shots, out-scoring them 3-1 to hit the third down a goal, 4-3.
Matthias Gardiman rifled a slap shot early in the second to cut the deficit to two, then after Derek McPhail potted his first of two on the night, banking the puck off the post and then off Dupuis’s back and into the net, Bradley Belisle and Brandon Wolframe each connected to pull the Stars within one.
Peavey and Nicholas Nigro traded goals in the first 1:24 of the third, Peavey taking the opening faceoff and marching down the ice for a goal eight seconds in.
Things got rough in the third, a pair of fights leading to four ejections, but the Stars simply ran out of steam. Blake Berg and McPhail replied for the Ice Dogs, putting the contest out of reach.
“I’m happy the way we battled back, but at the end, just a couple of mental mistakes cost us,” Adduono said.
The second-place Stars, who are just four points up on Dryden, will host English River on Saturday night. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Dryden, Philley (Peavey) 7:26. 2. Dryden, Golka (Pouncy) 15:27 pp. 3. Dryden, Peavey (Prouty, Cross) 15:48 pp. Penalties: Caruso TB (slashing) 3:49, Wesley-Chisel TB (interference) 4:42, Prouty DRY (roughing) 8:48, McKitrick TB (slashing) 13:52, Kellaway TB (tripping) 14:11, Eytcheson DRY (slashing) 18:42.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 4. Thunder Bay, Gardiman (Cavar, Kellaway) 1:26. 5. Dryden, McPhail (unassisted) 8:53. 6. Thunder Bay, Belisle (Cavar, Walsh) 14:29 pp. 7. Thunder Bay, Bra. Wolframe (Wesley-Chisel, Beisle) 18:14. Penalties: Philley DRY, Walsh TB (roughing) 2:20, McPhail DRY (roughing) 3:19, Bre. Wolframe TB (high sticking) 4:21, Newhouse TB (tripping) 7:40, Philley DRY (slashing) 8:31, Schlitt DRY (interference) 11:09, Eytcheson DRY (slashing) 12:51, Philley DRY (slashing) 16:12.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 8. Dryden, Peavey 2 (Masters) 0:08. 9. Thunder Bay, Nigro, (Kellaway, Gardiman) 1:24. 10. Dryden, Berg (Houston) 16:25 11. Dryden, McPhail (Golka, Philley) 18:27. Penalties: Eytcheson DRY (holding), Belisle TB (cross checking) 3:52, Bre. Wolframe TB, Walchuk DRY (fighting, game misconduct) 7:10. Belisle TB, Cusmano DRY (fighting, game misconduct) 8:24, Gardiman TB (hooking) 17:40.
GAME DATA – SOG – Dryden 21-3-14-38, Thunder Bay 12-15-10-37; Power plays (goals-chances) – Dryden (2-8), Thunder Bay (1-7); Goaltenders – Dryden: Tate Sproxton, Thunder Bay: Nathaniel Dupuis; A: 200 (estimated).
