THUNDER BAY – At this point in the season, the Kam River Fighting Walleye will take two points any way they can get them.
Entering play on Friday night with the red-hot Sioux Lookout Bombers, and just a point ahead of the Thunder Bay North Stars, the Fighting Walleye are already jockeying for position, looking to keep hold of a share of top spot in the Superior International Junior Hockey League.
The North Stars, playing at home at Fort William Gardens, scored first, but Jeremy Dunmore goal 33 seconds after the puck drop to open the third quelled any thoughts the home team had of making a comeback and the Fighting Walleye added a Jett Mintenko empty netter with 3:06 to go in the third and downed Thunder Bay 5-2, capturing a third straight triumph.
Kam River coach Jesse Messier said there’s still plenty to learn from the latest installment of the Highway 11/17 rivalry, but his team didn’t let an early 1-0 deficit, courtesy of a sharp-angle shot by Tyler Jordan that took a weird bounce off the shoulder of Fighting Walleye goaltender Ashton Sadauskas and dropped over the goal line, get them down.
“We kind of challenged our group in the room,” said Fighting Walleye coach Jesse Messier. “It took no other than our captain to come out and set the tone to start that third period, really leading by example there. That’s why he’s one of our leaders, for sure.”
The North Stars, for their part, paid the price for giving up too many big rebounds.
Kam River’s first goal came when Riley Borody, a member of last year’s Centennial Cup squad, got a second-shot opportunity and caught North Stars goaltender Keenan Marks going the wrong way, sliding the puck between his outstretched pads to tie the game at a goal apiece at 13:07 of the first.
A little under three minutes later Kam River took the lead for good, Carter Poddubny redirecting a pass from Carter Nailen – who later left the game with a potential head injury, ultimately returning after clearing the league’s concussion protocol – Nailen stationed behind the Thunder Bay net.
Nickolas Fagnilli buried another rebound 4:43 into the second to make it 3-1 Walleye, but Thunder Bay’s Keagan Jones took a Tristan Bear pass in the slot and slammed it past Sadauskas at 11:45 of the middle stanza, pulling Thunder Bay within a goal.
“We started a little slow. We were kind of fighting our own way through things. But getting that early lead and working through things there, and then challenging our team to come out with more of our style of hockey in the third, and that’s where we were able to put it away,” Messier said.
Sadauskas made 27 saves to grab the win, improving his season record to 12-1-0, the Fighting Walleye improving to 17-3-0.
Marks took the loss, stopping 40 of 43 shots he faced.
Wisconsin 6, Dryden 5: Jack Carruthers picked the right time to score his first goal of the season, netting the overtime winner 96 seconds into the extra frame. Wisconsin led 2-0, only to have Dryden score five straight to take a 5-2 lead. Zach Johnson, Collin Bakcer and Simon Davidson scored for the Lumberjacks in the third to send the game to overtime.
Red Lake 10, Kenora 3: Aiden Corbett had two goals and four points and Noah Tenney added a pair of his own to lead the Miners to victory over the expansion Islanders.
Sioux Lookout 4, Fort Frances 3: Tait Howell and Owen Riffel, who leads the SIJHL with 19 goals, scored third period markers to break open a 2-2 and the Bombers held on for their sixth straight win.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: Thunder Bay, Jordan 13 (unassisted) 7:36. 2. Kam River, Borody 8 (Bell, Dunmore) 13:07 pp. 3. Kam River, Poddubny 12 (Nailen) 15:41. Penalties: Lyden KRW (holding) 1:51, S. Sargent KRW (hooking) 10:10, Joran TB (hooking) 12:47, Jordan TB (hooking) 16:26.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 4. Kam River, Fagnilli 11 (Bell, Doucette) 4:42 pp. 5. Thunder Bay, Jones 3 (Bear, Helmeczi) 11:45. Penalties: Buffone TB (hooking) 4:34, Sheriff TB (boarding) 5:29, Debray KRW (interference) 9:20,
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 6. Kam River, Dunmore 14 (Borody) 0:33. 7. Kam River, Mintenko 12 (unassisted) 16:54 en. Penalties: J. Sargent KRW (game misconduct, neck guard violation) 0:33. Bell KRW (roughing), Jordan TB (unsportsmanlike conduct) 4:56, Bell KRW (hooking) 7:15, Marks TB (tripping, served by Bear) 14:10, Bell KRW (misconduct), Borody KRW (slew-foot tripping double minor) Labelle KRW (roughing, unsportsmanlike conduct, served by S. Sargent, Larrett TB (roughing) 18:40.
GAME DATA – SOG – Kam River 10-15-19-44, Thunder Bay 10-9-10-29; Power plays (goals-chances) – Kam River (2-5), Thunder Bay (0-4); Goaltenders – Kam River: Ashton Sadauskas, Thunder Bay: Keenan Marks; A: 835.
