OLIVER PAIPOONGE – Call Jack Cook Mr. Michigan.
The Kam River Fighting Walleye defenceman, voted the top blueliner in the Superior International Junior Hockey League, on Monday showed he’s still got a few tricks up his sleeves.
The Thunder Bay produced circled behind the Wisconsin net, his team drooling over a five-minute power play opportunity, cradled the puck on his stick blade wrapped it over the shoulder of a surprised Kyler Lowden in the Wisconsin Lumberjacks goal.
The tally, his fifth in two playoff games, doubled the Kam River lead to two at the time and the Fighting Walleye took commanding control of their best-of-seven semifinal series, winning 4-2 to go up two games to none.
It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to try the move, named after Mike Legg’s alma mater after he completed the feat in a 1996 NCAA Tournament game against the University of Minnesota.
“It was kind of the perfect situation there, coming around on my offhand. I got a little roll on my puck and then got it up there and that was that. It's surreal, nothing you expect to do, ever, and when you pull it off it leaves you speechless."
Kam River coach Geoff Walker says nothing really surprises him about Cook's play anymore.
"I've been saying it for a while. I think he's the best player in the league. Nothing surprises me anymore. The first shot was elite as well. Obviously we don't want to get too cute like that all the time, but that's a skilled player making a skilled play to score. We want to make sure our guys feel good and comfortable about making those decisions, especially our skill guys."
Cook’s goal was this second on a five-minute power play, earned when Wisconsin’s Connor McClure was given a spearing major and a match penalty, drawing an automatic game misconduct in the process.It was also Cook's fifth of the night.
It proved to be the deciding factor in the tightly contested game, the Lumberjacks clearly more rested than they were two nights earlier, coming off a gruelling seven-game opening-round series win over Sioux Lookout.
“Special teams is huge. I love the way our power play has been clicking, basically for the last two or three months," Walker said. "But now it seems to have gone to another level. Guys are really comfortable in their spots. They're urgent. We know what we want to do and, again, we let their imagination take over."
The win didn’t come as easily as the 10-2 series opener on Saturday night, but it was a win nonetheless.
Ethan Lang struck first for the home side, picking up the puck behind the Wisconsin net and bouncing it in from an impossible angle off of Lowden's skate, the goal the only time the lamp was lit in the opening period.
Ryder McMillen, who won the SIJHL points parade, evened the score 1-1 7:04 into the second, but the game stayed tied for all of 57 seconds, when Cook found the back of the net, two nights after putting up a hat trick in the opener.
Up 3-1, the Fighting Walleye had to battle throughout the third, after Salvatore Poggiali closed the gap to one on the power play, the goal coming four minutes into the final stanza.
The Fighting Walleye also killed off a brief 43-second Lumberjacks power play, which ended abruptly when Poggiali was called for boarding. Braeden Duchesne provided an insurance marker eight minutes in and Kam River held on to claim victory for the second time in three nights.
After taking care of business at the Norwest Arena, the Fighting Walleye will hit the road this week with a 2-0 series lead.
Eric Vanska, who picked up the win, left the game for 3:36 in the first because of a skate-blade issue. He made 29 stops. Lowden had 39 shots sent his way, stopping 35 of them. He was pulled in the final minute of the third, but to no avail.
Game 3 is Wednesday night in Spooner, Wisc.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Kam River, E. Lang 2 (Morton, Kinnavanthong) 7:30. Penalties: Flynn WIS (cross-checking) 2:00,
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Wisconsin, McMillen 2 (McDonald, Poggiali) 7:04 pp. 3. Kam River, Cook 4 (unassisted) 8:01. 4. Kam River, Cook 5 (E. Lang) 10:32. Penalties:Bell KRW (spearing double minor) 4:34, McClure WIS (spearing match penalty, game misconduct) 7:46, Sedgwick KRW (holding the stick) 13:04, Bell KRW (holding) 18:50.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 5. Wisconsin, Poggiali 6 (McDoanld, Jouppi) 3:57. 6. Kam River, Duchesne (Oviedo) 7:58. Penalties: Morrison KRW (slashing) 3:19, Morton KRW (interference) 5:09, Poggiali WIS (boarding) 5:52, Wyatt WIS (interference) 10:38.
GAME DATA – SOG – Wisconsin 11-11-9-31, Kam River 14-12-13-39; Power plays (goals-chances) – Wisconsin (2-4), Kam River (2-5); Goaltenders – Wisconsin: Kyler Lowden, Kam River: Eric Vanska, Jack Orchard (11:17 first; 0 shots, 0 saves) A: 705.
