Thunder on target for title

They’re halfway home—now it’s time to hit the road.
The Borderland Thunder—riding an eight-game winning streak—will head down Highway 11 with a 2-0 lead over the Thunder Bay KC Bulldogs in the best-of-seven SIJHL championship series as Games 3 and 4 go there Saturday and Sunday nights.
If necessary, Game 5 will be back here at the Ice for Kids Arena on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The dates and times for Game 6 in Thunder Bay and Game 7 here, again if necessary, were not available at press time today.
After a pair of 3-2 wins here in the first two games of the series on Tuesday and Wednesday night, the Thunder can wrap up their first SIJHL title with two more victories.
But that will be no easy task as the Bulldogs won four of the six meetings in Thunder Bay between the two squads during the regular season.
If the Bulldogs are going to get back in the series, they’ll need more out of their top line of Trevor Karasiewicz, Brian Dzijak, and Rylan Vesa.
The trio, which combined for 43 points in 12 regular-season games against the Thunder, have managed just a goal and three assists between them in the first two games of the series.
Borderland had been hoping the league would take further disciplinary action against Dzijak for cross-checking Kevin Webb in the face in the third period of Game 2 on Wednesday.
But SIJHL president Jerry Blazino said this morning the Thunder’s plan to send a videotape of the incident to the league was moot.
“It’s league policy that we don’t review videotapes,” he said. “If they’re going to send in a videotape, it better be of the whole game, because there was an incident right near the end of the game when a Bulldog player [Adam Fabiano] nearly got his head taken off in front of the net and ended up getting the retaliation penalty.”
The Thunder have controlled the first half of the series on the basis of a solid power play (three goals in two games) and a relentless offensive attack which has seen them outshoot Thunder Bay 69-41.
Both teams already have qualified for the Dudley Hewitt Cup here April 22-26. The Thunder are in as the host squad while the Bulldogs will represent the SIJHL even if they lose the final.