OLIVER PAIPOONGE – Rob DeGagne says he’ll take will over skill every day of the week.
It’s a good thing Edison Weeks has plenty of both.
The Alberta native scored the biggest goal of his junior hockey career on Monday night, corralling a loose puck at the feet of Kam River Fighting Walleye goaltender Eric Vanska and backhanding it into the net 7:43 into the first overtime period to give the Thunder Bay North Stars a 3-2 win and a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Superior International Junior Hockey League final.
It was the second goal of the night for Weeks, his fourth in two games, the North Stars stunning the top-ranked Fighting Walleye for a second straight night on the road, with a chance to head back to Fort William Gardens to potentially close out the series on home ice.
“We’ve been preaching going to the net all day and (Colby) Feist went to the net pretty hard there. I saw a little bit of an opening and started swinging at the puck, and was happy it went in,” Weeks said. “It was pretty electric and I saw some North Stars fans in the crowd, so the boys headed over there to celebrate with them. We really appreciate the support all year.
“Just to get a gritty one like that, going into our third game, everybody’s buzzing right now.”
The North Stars were 72 seconds away from winning the game in regulation, but lost a faceoff deep in their own end and the puck wound up on the stick of SIJHL defenceman-of-the-year Jack Cook, who blistered a shot from the far side of the right faceoff circle at Norwest Arena, the puck shooting through the pads of Thunder Bay goaltender Keenan Marks with 1:06 to go.
Marks, who finished with 47 saves on the night, said he forgot about the goal in a hurry.
“It was all right after that, nothing crazy,” said Marks, after leading the Stars to their fifth straight playoff victory.
“I just skated to the corner and went right back in net.”
That’s the type of mentality DeGagne was looking for from his team, who could have folded up the tent after giving up the equalizer in the final two minutes.
“Truthfully, it’s a learning lesson for these guys. They have to learn how to win. They could have just quit after that goal went in, but you can’t quit. They’ve got to where they have so far because they’ve worked. Really, it’s not their skill, it’s not their talent, it’s because of work,” DeGagne said.
The North Stars never trailed in the contest, taking the lead just 3:35 into the opening faceoff when Weeks beat Vanska for the only goal of the opening period.
Anthony Oviedo evened things up 5:07 into the second, firing the puck along the ice and between Marks’ pads.
The game remained tied for just over nine minutes, when Thunder Bay captain Matthew Halushak’s shot from the top of the circle eluded Vanska. It remained that way until Cook potted the equalizer, with the Kam River goaltender riding the pine in favour of an extra attacker.
Both teams had chances early on in the extra frame. Feist was stopped by Vanska’s glove-hand less than two minutes in and Kam River’s Jeremy Dunmore had a great opportunity at the other end of the rink, but couldn’t solve Marks.
The loss was a tough one to swallow, said Fighting Walleye coach Geoff Walker, who guided the Red Lake Miners past Kam River in last year’s Bill Salonen Cup final.
The good news is the Fighting Walleye did look dominant at times, outshooting the Stars 21-8 in the second. The bad news is the team is down two games and looking to avoid another championship round upset, having lost the first two games of the best-of-seven series on home ice.
“We are in a hole. It’s just going to be one game at a time from here on in and I’m very confident that if we bring that, in the Gardens, we’ll be successful.”
Game 3 is Thursday night at 8 p.m. at the Gardens.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Thunder Bay, Weeks 6 (Trahiotis, Caddo) 3:35. Penalties: Braham KRW (roughing) 4:57, Winsor TB (unsportsmanlike conduct, roughing), Reyelts KRW (high sticking, roughing) 13:36, Morton KRW (high sticking) 17:11, Weeks TB (hooking) 18:38.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Kam River, Oviedo 3 (Doucette, Sedgwick) 5:07. 3. Thunder Bay, Halushak 4 (fuchs, Skillestad) 14:34. Penalties: Desjardins TB (hooking) 11:46, Winsor TB (fighting major, game misconduct), Reyelts KRW (boarding, fighting major, game misconduct) 14:15, Gallaher KR (interference) 15:25.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 4. Kam River, Cook 10 (Gallaher, Leduc) 18:54. Penalties: Feist TB (interference) 7:10, Gallaher KRW (cross checking) 10:06, Leduc KRW (misconduct) 19:20.
OVERTIME
Scoring: 5. Thunder Bay, Weeks 7 (Fuchs) 7:43. Penalties: None.
GAME DATA – SOG – Thunder Bay 11-8-13-9-41, Kam River 14-21-9-5-49; Power plays (goals-chances) – Thunder Bay (1-5), Kam River (0-3); Goaltenders – Thunder Bay: Keenan Marks, Kam River: Eric Vanska; A: 893.
