Thunder to go Hawk hunting

The Borderland Thunder have feasted on the K&A Variety Golden Hawks all season up until now, but their next serving of fowl may be tougher to swallow.
The defending SIJHL champion Thunder (12-13-1-1) head east to battle the Hawks (2-28-3-1) tonight and tomorrow night, with the local side looking to continue a five-game winning streak while extending the Hawks’ four-game run of futility.
Fourth-place Borderland is 6-0 against the Hawks this season, outscoring K&A by a combined total of 44-20.
But the Thunder have been anything but dominant on the road in the 2003-04 campaign, sporting only a 3-10-0-1 record to date, although they did manage to earn three out of a possible four points against the KC Bulldogs in Thunder Bay last weekend.
The Hawks, though struggling, have proven to be no easy mark as of late after snapping a 12-game losing skid.
They pushed the second-place Fort William First Nation North Stars to overtime Wednesday night before falling 5-4, and also tied the first-place Dryden Ice Dogs 3-3 on Jan. 2.
On the other hand, Borderland should have its newest acquisitions— goalie Mike Downer from Sault Ste. Marie of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and defenceman P.J. Stodgell of the Warroad Junior ‘B’ squad—in the line-up for this weekend’s games.
Kevin Webb continues to spark the Thunder offence with a teamhigh 17 goals and 18 assists—good for ninth place in the SIJHL scoring race.
But teammates like Stephen McLeod (a natural hat trick against the Bulldogs last Friday) and Rob Scales (two goals in his last three games) are beginning to provide some much-needed scoring depth to the squad.
The Hawks are led by the trio of Brent Irwin (team-high 25 points), Jarris Blacksmith (tops in scoring among SIJHL defencemen with 23 points), and Eric Robin (team-best 11 goals).
Another threat is forward Nathan Hookimaw, who had fourconsecutive goals in a 6-5 Thunder victory Dec. 19 at the Ice for Kids Arena.
This weekend will mark the end of four-straight road games for the Thunder, who open a five-game homestand next Friday and Saturday (Jan. 23-24) at the Ice for Kids Arena.