The Thunder Bay North Stars had something to prove on Friday night.
It took them all of 2:20 to make their first statement and just over three minutes more to take full control against the Iron Range Ironheads.
Kyle Lapenskie had a pair of goals and two assists and Brandon Wolframe netted a pair of his own for the second straight outing, leading the middle-of-the-pack Stars (21-15-5) to a 10-3 win at Fort William Gardens.
It was a far cry from their previous meeting last weekend, when the Ironheads (6-34-2), winners of just six games in their inaugural season, knocked off the Stars 3-2 at the annual Superior International Junior Hockey League Showcase in Duluth.
"Last weekend I thought we deserved a better fate. We kind of outplayed them pretty good," Howarth said.
"They scored three goals on their first three shots and we kind of buckled down after that and we ended up losing 3-2. They played good, but I thought we were in the box heavy amounts down in the States. But you've got to give them credit. Our guys were focused tonight and they came out and played a pretty good game."
Scoring three times in the first five-and-a-half minutes was just what Howarth was hoping for in winning for the second straight time and taking sole possession of third place, about the only battle in the standings they have left at this point.
Devin Fullum tallied the first, beating Colton Ishmael in close, followed in rapid, and similar, succession by Lapenskie and Wolframe, who upped his total to 12 on the season.
"That's what we were trying to get at. My teams have always been known to be quick starters, but this team this year has struggled at being a quick-starting team," Howarth said. "We're trying to get to that. We've always been known in the past that once we smell blood, we go for it. And we don't usually get one, we get a couple or two or three in a row."
About the only place one could fault the Stars on this night was their penalty kill. Thunder Bay gave up just five shorthanded situations, but allowed the Ironheads to score on three of them, including pair of second-period power-play goals by Ben Brouillard. Dario Torres notched the other in the first, making it 4-1 for the Stars at the time.
Howarth had plenty of praise for his team, one of the youngest he's ever iced, pointing out Dylan Mascarin in particular.
Mascarin, playing alongside Lapenskie and Mitchell Fox, had a goal and three assists on the night, and Howarth said he's really come along since Christmas, when he sat the former Thunder Bay Kings forward down for a pep talk.
"He struggled there up until Christmas, but he's really kind of fit in there with those two big guys on the wings. He can pass the puck, he's got great hands and good vision. The line seems to be clicking pretty good."
Isaac Howarth , Michael Orosey and Brandon Warmington put the game out of reach in the third.
Star gazing: No word on the condition of North Stars goalie Marc Nother. Nother left the game in the second with the Stars up 6-2 ... Ismael was replaced in the first after allowing four goals on eight shots ... The Stars and Ironheads play again on Friday, with free admission to anyone bringing a non-perishable food item to the game to help support the Regional Food Distribution Agency ... Rempel's first-period assist pulled him into a tie with the injured Matt Kaarela for the team scoring lead with 41 points ... Elsewhere, at Fort Frances the Lakers doubled Duluth 4-2, while Sioux Lookout handed the Wisconsin Wilderness just their fifth loss of the season, downing them 5-2 on home ice.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Thunder Bay, Fullum 7 (Dubchak, Orosey) 2:20. 2. Thunder Bay, Lapenskie 15 (Ma. Fox, Mascarin) 4:16. 3. Thunder Bay, Wolframe 11 (Rempel, Ma. Fox) 5:33. 4. Thunder Bay, Wolframe 12 (Lapenskie, Mascarin) 11:56. 5. Iron Range,O'Neill (unassisted) 18:28 pp. 6. Thunder Bay, Mascarin 3 (Lapenkie, Mi. Fox) 18:50. Penalties: Botelho IR (delay of game) 10:21, Mi. Fox TB (elbowing) 16:48.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 7. Iron Range Brouillard (unassisted) 3:34 pp. 8. Thunder Bay, Lapenskie 16 (Mascarin) 4:09. 9. Thunder Bay, Dubinsky 11 (Howarth, Tilley) 15:15. 10. Iron Range, Brouillard (Botelho, Torres) 18:18 pp. Penalties: Ma. Fox TB (roughing) 0:58, Bench minor TB (delay of game, served by Pirus) 2:58, Ma. Fox TB, Goldsmith IR (fighting, game misconducts) 5:27, Wolframe TB (hooking) 16:33
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 11, Thunder Bay, Howarth 4 (Dubinsky) 0:10. 12. Thunder Bay, Orosey 4 (Prout, Dubchak) 2:38. 13. Thunder Bay, Warmington 2 (Rempel) 11:09. Penalties: O'Neill IR (interference) 11:39, Lapenskie TB (holding) 14:07.
GAME DATA – SOG – Iron Range 4-8-0-0, Thunder Bay 21-10-0-0; Power plays (goals-chances) – Iron Range (3-5) Thunder Bay (0-2); Goaltenders – Iron Range: Colton Ishmael, Thunder Bay: Marc Nother; A: 827.
Follow Leith Dunick on Twitter: @LeithDunick
