OLIVER PAIPOONGE – The Kam River Fighting Walleye better stock up on light bulbs.
If Thursday night's Superior International Junior Hockey League semifinal opener was any indication, they're going to need them.
The Fighting Walleye wore out the red light behind the Thunder Bay North Stars net in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series, the top-seeded team in the six-team circuit breaking open a 1-0 game after one with a six-goal, 32-shot performance in the second on their way to a 9-0 laugher at the Norwest Arena.
Carson Gorst and Ethan Lang had two goals apiece and goalie Austin Madge made 37 saves to earn the shutout in the franchise's first-ever playoff encounter, not to mention their first hockey game in a dozen days.
“I think it was just a culmination of our entire season in that game,” said Gorst, who returned to the Kam River lineup after missing the team's final four games of the regular season.
“That's our first playoff game and we really wanted to get off on the right foot. You talk to anyone in that dressing room and the pregame speech was about having a winning mentality and just showing what Walleye hockey is – and we ended up getting nine goals out of it.”
The result certainly wasn't what Fighting Walleye coach Matt Valley was expecting, especially after a first period that saw neither team score until the final minute, Jeremy Dunmore beating North Stars goalie Jordan Smith from in close on Kam River's first of seven power plays on the night.
“I think we were all surprised. Not to say we don't think we have it in ourselves, but we're a team that generally doesn't score in bunches like that,” Valley said.
“It felt really good to get one at the end of the first because it really felt like a true playoff hockey game. Then they kind of just started going in, in the second. Credit our guys for going to the right areas and working for those goals.”
The floodgates opened early and stayed that way throughout the middle frame.
Holden Woodcroft got the onslaught started 1:43 into the period, Gorst doubling the 2-0 lead again with goals 2:22 seconds apart, the second coming on the power play. Lang and Mackenzie Sedgwick added tallies four minutes apart to make it 6-0 with 6:38 to go in the period, chasing Jordan Smith from the North Stars net, the veteran goaltender victimized six times on 34 shots.
Trennis Riley took over and didn't fare much better, at least in the early going. Calvin Morrow buried the puck behind him just 77 after he skated between the pipes.
The Fighting Walleye offense quieted down in the third, but not completely.
Lang and Mackenize Sedgwick tallied seven seconds apart just past the midway point of a penalty-filled third, a period that couldn't end fast enough for Thunder Bay coach Rob DeGagne.
“It was just one of those games. It didn't matter what we did, it wasn't going to work. We didn't have one guy play bad, we had everybody play bad. But you know what, that's why we play seven games. We'll chalk that one up. Maybe I didn't have them prepared enough, I'll take the blame,” DeGagne said.
“We'll move on. We've got to be better. That's all.”
Game 2 goes Friday night at the Fish Tank.
Dryden 7, Red Lake 4: Nakoda Thunderchief, Cameron Ware and Ondrej Bardos had two goals apiece as the third-place Ice Dogs earned a road win in Game 1 of their semifinal series against the Red Lake Miners. Ryan Howe had a pair for the host team.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Kam River, Dunmore 1 (Reich, Clarke) 19:05 pp. Penalties: Enegren KFW (boarding) 13:05, Goodman KFW (cross checking) 15:18, Nelson TB (high sticking) 18:04.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Kam River, Woodcroft 1 (Clarke, Enegren) 1:43. 3. Kam River, Gorst 1 (Morriseau) 4:00. 4. Kam River, Gorst 2 (Fortin, Reich) 6:22 pp. 5. Kam River, Lang 1 (Enegren, Gallaher) 9:23. 6. Kam River, Sedgwick (Oviedo) 13:22. 7. Kam River, Morrow 1 (Gallaher, Woodcroft) 14:49. Penalties: Desjardins TB (cross checking), Fortier TB (unsportsmanlike conduct), Halushak TB, Woodcroft KFW (roughing) 5:21, Bertrand TB (head contact, misconduct) 6:23. Desjardins TB (roughing) 10:21, Meloche TB (interference) 16:42, Clarke KFW (hooking) 17:19,
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 8. Kam River, Morriseau 1 (Wiseman) 12:13 pp. 9. Kam River, Lang 2 (Sedgwick) 12:20. Penalties: Goodman KFW (cross checking) 1:10. Weeks TB (boarding) 9:16, Davis TB (boarding) 10:11, Halushak TB (slashing) 10:46, Clarke KFW (slashing) 10:16, Wesley TB (slashing) 15:22. McNeil KFW (misconduct) 15:22, Goodman FKW (slashing) 16:42, Clarke KFW (boarding) 16:53, Sedgwick KFW (holding the stick) 17:07. Vesperini TB, Morrow KFW (roughing) 18:52.
GAME DATA – SOG – Thunder Bay 10-14-13-37, Kam River 13-32-18-63; Power plays (goals-chances) – Thunder Bay (0-8), Kam River (3-7); Goaltenders – Thunder Bay: Jordan Smith (34 shots, 28 saves), Trennis Riley (13:22, second), Kam River: Austin Madge; A: 800.
