OLIVER PAIPOONGE – Just when it seemed like no one was going to light the lamp on Friday night, Max Leduc found himself alone in the slot.
The 16-year-old Kam River Fighting Walleye forward turned and fired the puck, blasting it through the five-hole of Thunder Bay North Stars goaltender Conner Lemieux.
The tally, coming at 10:45 of the third period, turned out to be the only goal of the game, the Fighting Walleye winning for just the second time in four outings – but for the fourth time in four outings against the visiting North Stars.
“I just came off an injury, so it was a little tough getting back, but the boys kept the intensity the whole game and Eric (Vanska), our goalie, kept us in it. It’s just a big moment when you get to score that last one,” said Leduc, who has points in four of his last five outings and is up to nine goals and 23 points in 28 games this season, his first in the SIJHL.
“I got a great pass from Jeremy (Dunmore), made a move on the first D and just shot it through the defence’s leg. It was a screen.”
Fighting Walleye coach Geoff Walker said that’s exactly the type of payoff the team was hoping for when Leduc was brought on board.
“He’s a stud. He knows how to play the game and he plays the game the right way at his age,” Walker said. “He missed the last three or four with an injury. That’s a huge hole for us and that’s saying something for a 16-year-old kid.”
While the goal was a key factor in the victory – you can’t win if you can’t put the puck in the net – it was Vanska who shouldered most of the pressure and kept the North Stars attack at bay. And attack Thunder Bay did.
The Stars outshot the Fighting Walleye 19-16 in the first and 15-13 in the second, but couldn’t solve the veteran netminder, who made 46 stops to pick up his third shutout of the season and fifth of his SIJHL career.
“He’s our rock,” Walker said. “He’s the key to our whole operation here. He grinded through a couple of tough weeks there, put it aside and had a (heck) of a game. We don’t win that game without him. We don’t win a lot of games without him.”
His best stop came in the second, the North Stars playing shorthanded.
Nikolas Campbell broke free and was in alone on the 20-year-old netminder, but was stonewalled. Later in the second E.J. Paddington had a near surefire redirect that should have broken the double goose egg – but Vanska had other ideas.
Conner Lemieux was equally up to the task at the other end of the rink, stopping 44 of 45 shots, including a scintillating toe save on Noah Kramps in the early stages of the third.
The third period also brought a little rough stuff, Dylan Winsor of the North Stars and Kobe Braham of the Fighting Walleye going toe-to-toe to earn five-minute fighting majors and automatic game misconducts, to the delight of 806 fans at Norwest Arena.
The two teams will try it again on Saturday night in Oliver Paipoonge. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.
