DRYDEN – The Kam River Fighting Walleye scored early and often and have wrestled home ice away from the top-ranked Dryden Ice Dogs.
Kaden Goodwin scored twice and added an assist on Saturday night, as the Fighting Walleye opened their best-of-seven Bill Salonen Cup final with a 6-2 road win over the Ice Dogs.
Goodwin opened the scoring at 3:38 of the first and then doubled the Fighting Walleye lead four minutes later.
Dryden’s Jordan Wales notched his third of the playoffs at 9:41 of the first, but Kam River’s Carter Poddubny restored the Fighting Walleye’s two-goal lead, beating Kellan Mooney, the Superior International Junior Hockey League’s top goaltender for 2024-25, at 16:35 of the first.
It was all Kam River in the second.
Jacob Lamoureux and Jett Mintenko scored six minutes apart, the only goals of the period, to end Mooney’s night.
Dryden’s McLaren Paulsen and Kam River’s Callum Halls traded goals in the third.
Mooney stopped 20 of 25 shots he faced on the night. Replacement Noah Davis, who took over after Mintenko’s tally midway through the second, made 15 saves on 16 shots.
Ashton Sadauskas was a lot less busy in the Kam River net, making 21 saves on 23 Dryden shots.
Game 2 goes Sunday night in Dryden.
