THUNDER BAY – If anyone on the Thunder Bay North Stars understands what it takes to beat the Red Lake Miners, it’s probably R.J. Dickie.
The 20-year-old Regina native won a championship with Red Lake last year and started the current Superior International Junior Hockey League season in their lineup before moving on to Blind River for a nine-game stint in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.
That led to a chance with the North Stars, and he made the most of it on Saturday night, scoring the overtime winner to send his former team packing for a second straight night, the Stars winning the second of a back-to-back set 3-2.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said Dickie, who has six SIJHL goals this season, four with Red Lake and two with Thunder Bay.
“We played them yesterday and today and it was a battle. It got a nice pass in front of the net and took two whacks at it and I finally got it past the goalie.”
Getting the winner against his former team made the triumph that much sweeter, he added.
“It felt special. I started the year there, so it was nice to put one home against my old team and all my buddies on the other team, so it was nice to get her done.”
The goal was also an encouraging sign for Thunder Bay coach Rob DeGagne, who said he was playing a hunch putting Dickie on the ice in overtime, the two teams playing four aside at the time he put the puck past Red Lake goaltender Trent Boryszczuk, who probably deserved a better fate after making 37 saves on the night.
“I thought he had some really good chances tonight to score some goals. He’s got good speed, he’s got good hands, he’s got a good shot,” DeGagne said. “So I was talking to him on the bench and I said, ‘You’ve got some chances, you’ve hit some posts, you’re going to score soon. I just took a hunch in overtime and said why don’t we put him out there?
“He’s not going hurt us defensively and his skating is good. But he went to the net and got the winner.”
The North Stars looked like they wanted to skate away and hide in the first, pouring 25 shots on Boryszczuk, beaten only once in the period on a high, hard shot by Thunder Bay defenceman Liam Murdoch, stationed at the top of the slot.
Red Lake rookie Jacob Lamoureux, who took over the SIJHL goal-scoring lead with a pair on Saturday night, evened the game with his 25th of the season just 3:22 into the second and gave them the lead 54 seconds into the third on a North Stars giveaway deep in their own zone.
The Stars tied it up midway through the final frame, Colby Feist netting his eighth of the year. Dmitri Tahiotis had a chance to put Thunder Bay back on top three minutes further on, but hit the post after stealing the puck from Red Lake’s Jonah DesRosiers.
Thunder Bay goaltender Conner Lemieux made a game-saving stop with three seconds left to send the game to overtime, where Nikolas Campbell spotted Dickie open in front of Boryszczuk and made sure to get him the puck for the winner.
Kam River 5, Dryden 2: The Fighting Walleye stretched their SIJHL lead to eight points with a second straight win over the Ice Dogs. Euan Morrison tied the game 2-2 7:35 into the second and the Fighting Walleye scored three more unanswered in the third, Jeremy Dunmore credited with the game-winner. It was Kam River’s eighth straight win.
Sioux Lookout 4, Wisconsin 1: Ty Bahm scored twice to lead the expansion Bombers to victory ahead of Monday’s night’s visit to Fort William Gardens for a date with the North Stars. The third-place Bombers (22-15-1) are three points up on Thunder Bay (19-16-4) and four up on Red Lake (18-17-5)
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Thunder Bay, Murdoch 4 (Dickie) 4:27. Penalties: Desjardins TB (tripping) 5:30, Woodard RLM (holding) 8:33, Sidaway RLM 15:10.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Red Lake, Lamoureux 25 (Mowat) 3:22. Penalties: Campbell TB (holding) 18:05, Glousher TB (unsportsmanlike conduct), Palmer RLM (roughing) 20:00.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Red Lake, Lamoureux 26 (Mowat) 0:44. 4. Thunder Bay, Feist (Weeks, Skillestad) 9:55. Penalties: Glousher TB (tripping) 18:39, Unrau RLM (slashing) 19:05.
OVERTIME
Scoring: 5. Thunder Bay, Dickie (Campbell, Feist) 1:16. Penalties: None.
GAME DATA – SOG – Red Lake 9-13-10-32 Thunder Bay 25-13-18-4-60; Power plays (goals-chances) – Red Lake (0-3), Thunder Bay (0-3); Goaltenders – Red Lake: Trent Boryszczuk, Thunder Bay: Conner Lemieux; A: 355.
