THUNDER BAY – Sometimes the hockey gods will cut you a break.
But they’re just as likely to break your heart a minute later.
That’s a good way to describe the Thunder Bay North Stars third period on Wednesday night. Riding a three-game winning streak, the North Stars, locked in a 2-2 at home against the Wisconsin Lumberjacks, appeared to score the go-ahead goal when the puck bounced high off the glass behind goaltender Kyler Lowden.
Thunder Bay’s Colby Feist batted it out of the air, onto the stick of Lumberjacks defender Ryan Kayser, who swiped it into his own net.
After a short conversation, the on-ice officials rule it no-goal, saying Feist’s stick was too high when he made contact in the slot.
No worried, exactly 10 seconds later Nikolas Campbell stormed down the Fort William Gardens ice and ripped a shot that Lowden caught a piece of, but not enough of it, and the North Stars had a 3-2 lead.
That’s when the hockey gods stepped in.
Forty seconds later Cooper McClure fired a shot, from outside the Thunder Bay blueline.
An innocent dump-and-chase pass, the puck bounced awkwardly in front of North Stars goaltender Keenan Marks, who flubbed the stop, McClure’s second of the night and 10th of the season tying the game 3-3.
Two minutes later the Lumberjacks got the winner on another weak save attempt by Marks, Dillon Phillips firing the puck between the Thunder Bay goaltender’s skates.
Wisconsin went on to win the game 4-3, snapping a four-game losing streak in the process. The North Stars (20-17-4) missed out on a chance to catch the third-place Sioux Lookout Bombers, and won’t return to the friendly Gardens confines until March 4.
“We can’t let that bother us at all,” said Wisconsin forward Connor McClure, who got his team on the board at 8:35 of the second, snagging a long rebound and slamming it past Marks.
“Our team is strong mentally and we just forgot about (Campbell’s goal) and played our own game and played a full 60 minutes, I think. We had some bumps here and there, but I think we came back and we got the W.”
The Stars jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. Feist struck first, as he outraced Sal Poggiali, cut across the Wisconsin net and beat Lowden on the backhand just 28 seconds into the contest. By the eight-minute mark Dylan Winsor doubled the home team’s lead, taking a quick pass from Mason Wesley at the bottom of the slot and redirecting it into the Wisconsin net.
It was a different story in the second, when the Lumberjacks outshot the North Stars 16-3. Down 2-1, Drake Flynn pounced on a Dylan Olsen rebound, tying the core on the power play with just 2:08 remaining in the middle stanza.
Thunder Bay coach Rob DeGagne said it was a tough way to lose.
“We didn’t play good enough tonight,” he said, matter-of-factly. “We didn’t deserve to win. We can’t fall asleep; we can’t just take teams for granted. We have to play hockey.”
DeGagne said he hadn’t yet spoken to Marks, who had sat the previous three games with Conner Lemieux between the pipes.
“You’ve got to be ready all the time. It was one of those goals I’m sure he’d love to have back, but he’ll learn from it hopefully and next time he won’t make that mistake.
The Stars are back in action on the road Saturday and Sunday in Fort Frances. Wisconsin visits Kam River for a pair this weekend.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Thunder Bay, Feist (Campbell, Voisey) 0:28. 2. Thunder Bay, Winsor 11 (Wesley, Anton) 7:57. Penalties: Dickie TB (hooking) 16:39, Flynn WIS (tripping) 16:55.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Wisconsin, Connor McClure 9 (Flynn, Carson) 8:35. 4. Wisconsin, Flynn 4 (Olsen, Jouppi) 17:52 pp. Penalties: Glousher TB (interference) 16:08.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 5. Thunder Bay, Campbell (Weeks, Halushak) 8:47. 6. Wisconsin, Cooper McClure (Carson, Poggliani) 9:27. 7. Wisconsin, Phillips (Olsen) 11:14. Penalties: Winsor TB (cross checking) 5:28, Hacker WIS (tripping) 7:37, Poggiali WIS (hooking), McClure WIS (misconduct) 11:21.
GAME DATA – SOG – Wisconsin 9-14-14-37, Thunder Bay 16-3-11-30; Power plays (goals-chances) – Wisconsin (1-3), Thunder Bay (0-2); Goaltenders – Wisconsin: Kyler Lowden, Thunder Bay: Keenan Marks; A: 220.
