Thunder, Bulldogs set for final

The regular-season tango and the semi-final shuffle are over. Get ready for the big dance.
The Borderland Thunder and Thunder Bay KC Bulldogs—the top two teams in the SIJHL this season—will shoot for all the marbles in the best-of-seven final which starts here tonight at 7:30.
Game 2 also will be here tomorrow at 7:30 p.m., before the series heads down Highway 11 to Thunder Bay for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Sunday.
The Thunder come in having won six in a row, including a four-game sweep of the defending champion Dryden Ice Dogs in the semi-finals, while the Bulldogs knocked out the Fort William First Nation Wolves 4-1.
If the season series between the finalists is any indication, there won’t be much room for error on either side. The Thunder scraped out a 6-5-1 record in their head-to-head meetings, with nine of the 12 games decided by two goals or less.
Kevin Webb had the overtime winner as Borderland nipped the Bulldogs 6-5 here Oct. 18, then Matt Johnson posted a goal and two assists in a 4-2 victory the following night.
The Bulldogs delivered some payback the following weekend on home ice, ending the Thunder’s 10-game unbeaten streak with a 3-2 victory on Jamie Silverson’s game-winner with 3:42 left in regulation time.
Jeff Moggy fired a natural hat trick in a 6-3 win the following night, then the Bulldogs made it three in a row over the Thunder with a 4-2 win here Nov. 29, with Bobby Wrigley notching a pair.
It appeared Thunder Bay would make it four-straight the next night, leading 6-5 with less than two minutes left in the third period. But Chad Baldwin netted his second goal of the night at 18:24, and Kyle Prystupa came through with the game-winner with just 35 seconds left for a 7-6 Thunder win.
A 1-1 tie here Dec. 13 was highlighted by former Thunder goalie Kyle Rogers making 42 saves to steal the Bulldogs the single point.
The goalie’s luck would run out the next evening, though, as A.J. Tucker collected two goals and an assist in a 7-3 Thunder victory.
Trevor Karasiewicz, the SIJHL’s regular-season scoring champ, registered a hat trick in a 4-2 Bulldogs’ victory here Jan. 3, but the Thunder unleashed a massive offensive assault the following night in a 9-2 blowout of the visitors, with nine different Thunder players rippling the twine.
In the teams’ final two-game series of the regular season, Johnson had the game-winner while Thunder goalie Dan Hoehne made 34 saves in a 2-1 win Jan. 31 in Thunder Bay.
But Brian Dzijak scored with 53 seconds left in regulation for a 5-4 win the next night to close out the season series.
Dzijak and Karasiewicz are tied for the playoff lead with 11 points each, while teammate Rylan Vesa is right behind with nine. Webb and Kurt Hogard lead the Thunder with five points apiece.
Bulldogs’ goalie Bill Gerry leads all playoff netminders with a .932 save percentage but Hoehne holds the best goals-against average (2.00).
Both teams already have qualified for the Dudley Hewitt Cup here April 22-26. The Thunder have an automatic berth as host team, thus guaranteeing the Bulldogs a spot as the SIJHL rep.