THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay North Stars may be peaking at exactly the right time.
Alex Remenda scored twice on Monday afternoon and goaltender Keenan Marks was two seconds away from his second shutout of the season as the Stars stretched their undefeated streak to seven games, downing the host Kam River Fighting Walleye 4-1 in a Tournament Centre matinee.
“It just started with our captain, and it just continued down the lineup. Our goalie just stood on his head the whole time and kept us in it all the time,” said Remenda, after potting his 19th and 20th goal of the season, going top shelf on Kam River goaltender Ashton Sadauskas at 14:23 of the third and then capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play in the third, taking a pass from Jarred Feist in the slot and slamming it home.
The Stars captain, Tyler Jordan, opened the scoring at 18:38 of the first, sent in alone on the Kam River goaltender before beating short side.
The win leaves the North Stars (27-10-4), who hold a game in hand, a point behind the Fighting Walleye (29-12-1), who lost for just the seventh time in 32 games under the guidance of coach Larry Wintoneak.
That’s a pretty good place to be, said North Stars coach Rob DeGagne.
“We’ve got to beat the teams ahead of us. It’s so close. That was a big game for us. We still have a game in hand and we’re one point behind. That’s good. Now we have to go into Sioux Lookout and hopefully get two, though a split would be fine as well,” DeGagne said.
The veteran coach praised the North Stars defence, and of course, the goaltending.
Marks made 37 saves on the day, including a point-blank stop on Jett Mintenko early in the second that could have tied the game and shifted the momentum toward the Fighting Walleye.
“Keenan played phenomenal. That was a big difference for us. And we capitalized on our chances. We got two power-play goals. We scored on our opportunities and Keenan stopped theirs,” DeGagne said.
Thunder Bay’s first power-play goal came midway through the third, Marcellus Francis burying a cross-ice pass from Feist.
The North Stars had a chance to extend their lead minutes later, but Sadauskas turned aside Acoyen Fehr’s breakaway chance.
Marks then returned the favour on Carter Poddubny, with the North Stars on the power play. Any momentum gained from the opportunity was stymied in rapid fashion, when Daxton Lang was sent to the box, giving the North Stars a 71-second two-man advantage. Fifty-three seconds later Remenda struck for the second time in the game, putting it out of reach with less than five minutes to go in regulation.
Remenda, who had scored once in five games prior to a the team’s most recent road trip to Ironwood, Mich., now has four goals in his past two outings and points in five of six games.
“It feels great to get a couple,” he said. “Especially against them.”
The Stars head to Sioux Lookout for games on Friday and Saturday night. Kam River, the home team on Monday, continues their homestand this weekend against the Fort Frances Lakers.