OLIVER PAIPOONGE – The Kam River Fighting Walleye are simply biding their time.
The defending Superior International Junior Hockey League champions entered play on Friday night in third place, two points behind the front-running Sioux Lookout Bombers and a point back of their opponent, the Dryden Ice Dogs.
There is, of course, the matter of the games in hand.
The Ice Dogs (17-9-1) have made five more appearances than the Fighting Walleye, the Bombers two.
When the dust settled on Friday night, the Fighting Walleye (18-4-0) were tied for top spot, Ashton Sadauskas having stopped all 30 shots he faced to earn his league-leading third shutout of the season and Kam River skated to a 4-0 win on home ice at the Norwest Arena.
It was a chance to send a message to the Ice Dogs, who handed the Fighting Walleye a 5-2 defeat in the last meeting between the two teams, and a chance for Kam River to get back in the win column, having dropped a 5-2 decision to the Thunder Bay North Stars last Saturday night.
“(My teammates) did a great job, made it easy for me out there, to make easy saves and see the puck,” said Sadauskus, who upped his win-loss record to a sparkling 13-1-0, his goals against average dropping to 2.34, fourth best in the eight-team circuit.
“That was a big game for sure. It’s a close bunch at the top of the standings and we want to win every game. It’s a big win.”
Kam River coach Jesse Messier said his team wasn’t expecting an easy win and, true to form, the Ice Dogs made them work for this one too.
“They’ve played us tough every single time. It’s been one of those cat-and-mouse games where we take one, they take one, we take one. But yeah, they took the last one, so coming into our rink we wanted to take care of business tonight,” Messier said.
“I think the guys did a really good job right from the first puck drop, right through to the end.”
Kam River, who outshot Dryden 19-7 in the opening period, had to settle for a one-goal lead after 20 minutes, Ryan Doucette producing the only tally of the first, taking a couple of backhand whacks at the puck, lifting it over Ewan Soutar and just across the goal line.
Matteo Salvatore doubled the Fighting Walleye lead, burying a pass from Kaden Goodwin, who outraced a pair of Ice Dogs defenders into the Dryden zone before sliding the puck over to his waiting teammate.
Kam River killed three minor penalties in the second, including an 82-second 5-on-3 situation.
Dryden’s best chance to score came with five minutes to go in the middle frame, when Jack Graham chipped the puck away from Easton Debray and raced in alone on Sadauskas.
“You’ve just got to be ready, stay calm, roll your shoulders back and just take it on,” said the Parksville, B.C. goaltender, who was 36-10-0 in two seasons with the Vancouver Island Hockey League’s Oceanside Generals prior to arriving in Oliver Paipoonge.
Jett Mintenko added another goal in the final minute of the second and Braeden Duchesne wrapped things up in the third, his insurance goal coming at the 7:36 mark.
The Ice Dogs and Fighting Walleye will wrap up their season series on Saturday night at the Norwest Arena. Puck drop is 7:45 p.m. Kam River has won four of the six matches already played.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Kam River, Doucette 8 (J. Sargent, Borody) 8:14. Penalties: None.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Kam River, Salvatore 3 (Goodwin, L. Bell) 10:45. 3. Kam River, Mintenko 13 (Nailen, Poddubny) 19:09. Penalties: Bell KRW (tripping) 2:57, Bench minor KRW (too many men, served Fagnilli) 7:49, Labelle KRW (roughing) 12:51, Dunmore KRW (interference) 13:35, Biagi DRY (charging) 14:57, Schrader DRY (slashing) 19:48.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 4. Kam River, Duschesne (Fagnilli, B. Bell) 7:36. Penalties: Maschenko DRY (roughing) 9:28, Zimmerman DRY (roughing, charging), Nailen KRW (roughing, unsportsmanlike conduct) 19:53.
GAME DATA – SOG – Dryden 7-16-7-30, Kam River 19-10-19-48; Power plays (goals-chances) – Dryden (0-4), Kam River (0-3); Goaltenders – Dryden: Ewan Soutar, Kam River: Ashton Sadauskas; A: 411.
