Thunder double Dryden Ice Dogs

With Highway 502 open, the Borderland Thunder had a clear road to victory Wednesday night.
Chad Baldwin scored twice, and A.J. Tucker netted the game-winner, as the Thunder (20-5-4-1) dumped the host Dryden Ice Dogs (17-10-2-1) by a 4-2 count.
The game originally had been set for Dec. 18, but had to be postponed because weather forced the closure of Highway 502 due to poor road conditions.
Thunder assistant coach Sean Taggart pointed to starting goalie Dan Hoehne as the main reason for their success Wednesday night.
“Dan played especially well, especially in the first period,” said Taggart. “It just took us a while to get rid of our bus legs.”
Hoehne was ruled ineligible for his last appearance in Dryden on Oct. 30 during his Thunder debut—a 3-0 victory that later was forfeited because the goalie’s transfer had not been authorized by the league at that point.
A frantic opening 20 minutes saw the two teams trading offensive punches, as Baldwin sandwiches a pair of goals around a tally by Dryden’s Matt Tryhuba.
Jordan Sitar then tied it for Dryden, who were led by new head coach Jason Tatarnic in his first game with the Ice Dogs, but Tucker broke in alone on goalie Ryan McGillis late in the first to put the Thunder in front to stay.
Kevin Webb added an insurance goal in the second period as the Thunder won for the ninth time in their last 12 outings.
The Thunder have beaten the defending SIJHL champs in all three of their in match-ups so far this season (including the forfeited game), and now lead the fourth-place Ice Dogs by a whopping 25 points.
The Thunder and the Ice Dogs will complete the home-and-home series Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at the Ice for Kids Arena here.
In related news, the next organizational meeting for the Dudley Hewitt Cup tournament here in April will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Couchiching Rec Centre.
All those interested in helping out with hosting the April 22-27 tourney are invited to attend the meeting, or contact Blake Bruyere (274-7356) for more information.