THUNDER BAY — Something’s got to give on Saturday.
The Kam River Fighting Walleye have won eight straight playoff games to reach the Bill Salonen Cup final, and will put their perfect record on the line against the equally undefeated and top-ranked Dryden Ice Dogs in a best-of-seven final that looks like it could go the distance.
In seven meetings during the regular season, the Ice Dogs won four times, the Fighting Walleye three, with Dryden outscoring Kam River by the slimmest of margins, 24-23.
Fighting Walleye captain Daxton Lang, who led the Superior International Junior Hockey League in points during the regular season, said his team is ready to go back into battle, seeking out their second championship in three seasons.
“I think our boys are ready,” said Lang, ready to make his third straight appearance in the SIJHL final.
“We’ve been tested in playoffs and we’re just getting better and better every day.”
The Ice Dogs, who swept Red Lake in the semifinals, were the No. 1 team in the regular season, finishing with a 36-9-5 record, four points better than the Fighting Walleye, who wound up with a 36-13-1 mark, after starting the season 5-5-0 and replacing former coach Dwight Lee with SIJHL veteran Larry Wintoneak.
They boast MVP McLaren Paulsen, goaltender of the year Kellen Mooney and coach of the year, Jake Gushue.
Paulsen said there’s no doubt the Ice Dogs have what it takes to win it all.
“Our mindset throughout the year is that we’re the best team is this league,” said Paulsen, “And one of the best teams in Canada. Nothing changes going into the finals. We need four wins to bring “Bill” home and that’s our goal,” Paulsen said in a series preview posted to the SIJHL website.
“We’re going to go one game at a time, break those games up into periods. We’re going to attack every period, every opportunity, as if it were our last. That’s the mindset we’ve had these playoffs. That’s how we found success against Red Lake.”
Kam River’s Jett Mintenko, a member of last year’s Fighting Walleye squad that got swept out of the championship round by the Sioux Lookout Bombers, said that alone is a motivating factor.
Things have changed, added the SIJHL’s forward of the year.
“I think we have a different structure this year. I think the guys are a little more bought in. I think if we just stick to the character that Larry brought into the room when he first got here, we’ll be successful.”
Both coaches are prepping their players for a long, drawn-out series.
The likelihood of one of the two teams continuing their unbeaten march through the playoffs is slim.
“It’ll be a really good series. It’s really going to showcase how skilled and how good our league has gotten. We’re looking forward to the test of the finals here,” Gushue said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it went the distance. Every time Dryden goes to Kam River or Kam River comes to Dryden the stands are always packed. Everyone knows there’ll be some good hockey games. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Wintoneak expects the Ice Dogs to give the Fighting Walleye everything they can handle, and more. The best approach may be a cliché, but it works, he said.
“You just have to take it one game at a time and one shift at a time. I think we’ve worked extremely hard to get to this point. We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, but the job is not finished,” Wintoneak said. “We’re looking forward to Saturday. We’re itching to play. Let’s get after it.”
Game 1 and 2 are Saturday and Sunday in Dryden. The series shifts to Norwest Arena on Wednesday and Thursday for Games 3 and 4.
