THUNDER BAY – The Kam River Fighting Walleye dug out the brooms and swept away the Thunder Bay North Stars in four straight.
Jett Mintenko, the second-leading point-getter in the Superior International Junior Hockey League, grabbed the puck inside the North Stars blue line and ripped a shot that beat goaltender Keenan Marks on his short-side at 6:16 of the extra frame at Fort William Gardens on Wednesday night, giving the Fighting Walleye a 4-3, series-clinching triumph.
“It was exciting. Obviously, I wanted it. The boys were just buzzing. I think we outplayed them that game, especially in the third, so it was nice to come out and get one,” said Mintenko, who scored twice in the series opener last Friday at the Norwest Arena.
Kam River will take on the top-ranked Dryden Ice Dogs in the Bill Salonen Cup final, tthe Ice Dogs capturing the other semifinal in four straight games, capping it with a 3-0 win on Wednesday over the Red Lake Miners.
Mintenko, a 30-goal scorer in the regular season, will be looking to make up for last year’s championship round loss at the hands of the Sioux Lookout Bombers.
“We were there last year. I think lots of guys on the team have unfinished business. I know we swept, but it was a way closer series than it was on paper,” he said.
Indeed, it was.
The Stars took the Fighting to Walleye in Games 2, 3 and 4, but just couldn’t solve Kam River goaltender Ashton Sadauskas when it mattered most.
“It’s unbelievable how hard these kids work, right from the get-go,” said Fighting Walleye coach Larry Wintoneak, who took over a 5-5-0 team 10 games into the season and is looking to capture his second SIJHL championship, 23 years after leading the Ice Dogs to the inaugural Bill Salonen Cup title in 2002.
“There’s just something about this group that’s special. They’re built this way to play hockey and to enjoy each other. These moments are special. It’s hard to win four straight. It’s hard to win three overtime games. That’s a good hockey team we played over there.”
It was back and forth all night long, neither team able to pull away.
Jacob Lamoureux opened the scoring for Kam River at 5:51 of the first, firing a shot from the left hash that Marks couldn’t corral. But the lead lasted a little more than two minutes when Beau Helmeczi took a pass from Peter Forester in the slot and ripped it past Sadauskas.
Zach Baumann one-timed a pass from Carter Poddubny five-and-a-half minutes into the second to restore Kam River’s one-goal lead, but once again the North Stars had an answer, defenceman Max Buffone launching a high hard shot from just inside the Fighting Walleye blueline to even things up a two apiece, the goal coming at 7:31 of the middle frame.
Helmeczi gave the North Stars their first – and only – lead of the night 93 seconds into the third, a redirection that caught Sadauskas going the other way.
The Fighting Walleye, who were shorthanded seven times in the game, made the most of a rare power-play opportunity in the third when Kaden Goodwin, the overtime hero the night before, took a pass from Lamoureux and buried it.
The Stars were unable to capitalize on a Caleb Labelle double minor.
They did have a chance to win it in overtime when captain Tyler Jordan was sent in alone on Sadauskas with five minutes to go in regulation, but the Kam River goaltender didn’t back down.
That set the stage for Mintenko’s heroics.
“It was a long shift. It was near the end. I tried to go short-side in the third and hit the post and I was like, screw it, I’ll try it again.”
The Fighting Walleye and Ice Dogs are expected to open the SIJHL final on April 19 in Dryden. Games 3 and 4 will be played at the Norwest Arena.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Kam River, Lamoureux 5 (Debray) 5:51. 2. Thunder Bay, Helmeczi 2 (Simeoni, Forester) 8:01. Penalties: Halls KRW (tripping) 8:43, Lang KRW (cross checking) 17:49.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Kam River, Baumann 3 (Poddubny) 5:29. 4. Thunder Bay, Buffone (Franz, Francis) 7:31 pp. Penalties: Halls KRW (tripping) 7:17, Feist TBN (cross checking) 8:01, Loke TBN (holding) 11:00, Jordan TBN (slashing) 12:26, Baumann KRW (interference), Bryson TBN (roughing) 13:13, Wright KRW (tripping) 14:48, Lang KRW (slashing) 17:38, Liang KRW (hooking) 19:25.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 5. Thunder Bay, Helmeczi 3 (Bryson, Simeoni) 1:33. 6. Kam River, Goodwin (Lamoureux) 4:50 pp. Penalties: Glousher TBN (holding) 4:22, Labelle TBN (high sticking double minor) 6:08, Liang KRW (interference), Helmeczi TBN (tripping) 7:45.
OVERTIME
Scoring: 7. Kam River, Mintenko 4 (Liang) 6:16. Penalties: None.
GAME DATA – SOG – Kam River 7-14-10-2-33, Thunder Bay 16-8-8-1-33; Power plays (goals-chances) – Kam River (1-4), Thunder Bay (1-7); Goaltenders – Kam River: Ashton Sadauskas, Thunder Bay: Keenan Marks; A: 1,242.
