THUNDER BAY – It’s winner-take-all-time in the Superior International Junior Hockey League final.
E.J. Paddington and Colby Feist scored twice apiece on Monday night to lead the Thunder Bay North Stars to a 6-2 win over the visiting Kam River Fighting Walleye, forcing a decisive Game 7 on Wednesday night in the Bill Salone Cup championship.
Knowing there was no tomorrow if they lost, Paddington said he and his teammates knew they had to find a way to keep the series alive and end a three-game losing streak, that saw them give a way a 2-0 series lead and give back home-ice advantage to the Fighting Walleye.
“We played three games facing elimination against Dryden and we just played how we usually play. We played our game and we came out on top, so that’s good,” said Paddington, a rookie with the North Stars in 2022-23.
The turning point came as the second period was winding down.
Kam River’s Ethan Lang appeared to even the score with a blast from the left faceoff circle, only to have the officials wave the goal off, saying the net behind Thunder Bay goaltender Keenan Marks was off its moorings.
While the few inches may not have made a difference on the play, it turned the game around. Thirty seconds later Paddington redirected the puck past Eric Vanska, and instead of a 2-2 contest, the North Stars led 3-1.
“It’s good to have momentum going our way, so any time we can take that, we will,” said Paddington.
No one felt more relieved than Marks, back in the net after ceding the job to Connor Lemieux in Game 5.
“The net was off when I laid down and the ref called it off. I was pretty lucky, I guess,” said Marks, author of 41 saves on the night.
“It was a big momentum swing when we went down and scored there. It was pretty cool.”
The North Stars, who had yet to win on home ice in the series, never trailed in this one and took their first lead of the night with less than a second left in the first, defenceman Drew Caddo scoring Thunder Bay’s first of three power play goals on a shot from just above the right circle that caught Vanska by surprise.
The Fish evened things up with a power-play goal of their own, a seeing eye shot from Jack Pufahl tipped into the North Stars net by Logan Gallaher..
Eighty-six seconds later, the home side was back in front for good, Colby Feist kicking the puck up to his stick and banging it home on Vanska’s doorstep.
Up 3-1 after two, the Stars got a little sloppy in their own end early in the third, Braeden Duchesne outhustled the Thunder Bay defence and went short-side on Marks, cutting the lead again to one, but once again, Paddington had an answer, grabbing Caddo’s wild shot off the end boards and one-timing it home, Gallaher in the box serving a four-minute kneeing major.
Dimitri Trahiotis and Feist, into the empty net, rounded out the Thunder Bay scoring in the third.
“Hopefully that momentum will carry into Game 7,” said North Stars coach Rob DeGagne, adding the team has the mentality needed to face adversity.
“We had our backs up against the wall three times against Dryden, down three games to one. They’ve been here before. They know they’ve got to work hard and if they work hard, we’re as good as anybody. They worked hard tonight and got a few breaks and it paid off.”
Those breaks include a pair of first period Walleye shots off the post, the first by potential playoff MVP Jack Cook, the second by Gallaher.
Nikolas Campbell, the Stars top player, hit the crossbar in the second.
Kam River coach Geoff Walker said he liked his team’s effort, just not the end result.
The good news is the Fighting Walleye live to see another day and have one last shot at their first SIJHL championship, on home ice.
“It just felt like we were chasing, but ultimately, we just weren’t good enough, right from the top of the lineup on down,” Walker said. “But we’ll regroup and reset and get another crack at it.”
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Thunder Bay, Caddo (Weeks, Murdoch) 19:59. Penalties: Bench minor TB (too many men, served by Glousher) 2:10, Murdoch TB (interference) 12:06, Campbell TB (tripping) 15:57, Borody KRW (tripping) 18:22.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Kam River, Gallaher 2 (Pufahl 2:17 pp. 3. Thunder Bay, Feist 6 (Campbell, Bertrand) 3:43. 4. Thunder Bay, Paddington (Halushak, Weeks) 15:37. Penalties: Glousher TB (holding) 2:02.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 5. Kam River, Duchesne (unassisted) 3:28. 6. Thunder Bay, Paddington (Caddo, Murdoch) 7:39. 7. Thunder Bay, Trahiotis (Halushak, Desjardins) 12:17. 8. Thunder Bay, Feist 7 (Fuchs) 18:18 en. Penalties: Gallaher KRW (kneeing double minor) 4:02, Dunmore KRW (roughing) 10:45.
GAME DATA – SOG – Kam River 20-13-10-43, Thunder Bay 11-14-9-34; Power plays (goals-chances) – Kam River (1-4), Thunder Bay (3-3); Goaltenders – Kam River: Eric Vanska, Thunder Bay: Keenan Marks; A: 1,943.
