Joey Payeur
The Thunder Bay North Stars’ endless parade through sick bay this season concluded with the Fort Frances Lakers pulling the plug on their title hopes.
Colton Spicer and Nolan Ross each scored twice, and Cody Antonini chalked up five assists, as the Lakers rolled to an 8-3 win in Game 5 here last Thursday night to take the best-of-seven semi-final series 4-1.
“Give Thunder Bay credit,” said Lakers’ head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan.
“They worked hard to battle and take the series as long as they could.”
The North Stars had forced the series to return here after a 6-5 win in Game 4 in Thunder Bay last Tuesday (March 31).
But Thunder Bay came out of the game missing three of its top six forwards due to injury in siblings Brandon and Brett Wolframe, as well as SIJHL rookie-of-the-year Bradley Belisle.
The Lakers pounced on the visitors right out of the gate Thursday night, with Ross tipping the puck past North Stars’ goalie Eric Mann just over five minutes into the first period for a 1-0 lead.
Spicer made it 2-0 just over two minutes later on a power play when he whacked home the puck after it had bounced high in the air and came down amid a frantic scramble of bodies in the North Stars’ crease.
The Lakers then exploded for three goals in the second to go up 5-0.
After Dylan Kooner slid the puck through the crease during a two-man advantage, Spicer picked it up and wheeled out front before ripping it past Mann.
Only 1:10 later, A.J. Kapcheck dumped the puck on net from the right-wing boards, with Ross tied up with former Laker Aaron Wesley-Chisel in front.
The puck deflected off Ross and by Mann, who was pulled after making just 12 saves.
Nathaniel Dupuis took over between the pipes—only to have to face another Lakers’ two-man advantage, which resulted in Mason Meyer’s marker from in close.
Fort Frances started getting into penalty trouble of its own later in the frame, giving the North Stars a full two-minute, two-man advantage.
Tim Cavar capitalized with a screen shot that eluded Lakers’ goalie Nathan Park to finally get his team on the board.
Cavar almost scored with three seconds left in the period and the Stars again two men up, but Park made a brilliant glove save on the defenceman’s one-timer.
Thunder Bay didn’t quit, with Daniel McKitrick scoring on the power-play just 19 seconds into the third, and again at 10:22, to cut the lead to 5-3.
Strachan immediately called a time-out to settle his troops down—and the move worked to perfection.
Kapcheck made a long saucer pass from his own blueline to an awaiting Wyatt Cota at the North Stars’ blueline.
Cota walked in 2-on-1 and snapped the puck past Dupuis to push the lead back up to three.
“You don’t make a pass like that very often,” admitted Kapcheck.
“[Thunder Bay] lost life after that one went in,” he added.
Just 1:28 later, Sam Schultz wired a shot coming off the left boards that bulged the twine.
Bowen Alcock then capped the scoring by popping home a rebound of Spicer’s shot.
“We wanted to finish this tonight,” said Spicer, who broke out after getting just two assists in the first four games.
“I was in a slump for a bit so it felt good to come through tonight [Thursday],” he noted.
“I’m a fourth-year guy on this team so it’s good to be able to produce.”
Park had 26 saves in going a perfect 4-0 in the series after resting for Game 4 in favour of Pierce Dushenko.
Dupuis, who surprisingly didn’t get the starting nod Thursday despite a remarkable 47-save effort in Game 4, finished with 20 stops.
North Stars’ head coach Jeremy Adduono was heartened by the fight his team showed after falling behind by so much.
“We scored the one in the second and then got within 5-3, and had a couple of chances that could have really been game-changers,” said this year’s SIJHL coach-of-the-year.
“McKitrick split the defence on the 5-on-3 and Park made a great save. . . .
“We knew coming in the Lakers were four lines deep and six strong on defence, but Park is the X-factor for them,” Adduono added.
Strachan, meanwhile, stressed there’s still plenty of work left to do for his team to repeat as SIJHL champs.
“This just means we’re one step closer to reaching the goal we want to achieve,” he remarked.
“It seemed like every night, everyone contributed either on the scoreboard, with a blocked shot, or a big defensive play,” Strachan added.
“Twenty guys really rose to the task.”
