The best way to beat a one-man band is to throw the whole orchestra at him.
The Borderland Thunder were undone by a stunning solo performance Friday night in a 4-2 loss to the Thunder Bay KC Bulldogs in SIJHL action at the Ice for Kids Arena.
But the locals regrouped impressively Saturday night as nine different marksmen tallied in a 9-2 Thunder victory.
Trevor Karasiewicz was a maestro on blades for the Bulldogs in the opener, netting a hat trick and then assisting on Rylan Vesa’s game-winner early in the second period.
Matt Johnson and Kevin Webb, in his first outing after missing the last eight games with a shoulder injury, replied for the Thunder.
Then with Thunder Bay (16-11-2-1) threatening to pull within three points of the first-place Thunder (19-5-4-1), a bevy of snipers sent the Bulldogs yelping into the night.
Rob Scales, A.J. Tucker, “Critter” Nagurski, Johnson, Ian Lockman, Webb, Dallas Mosbeck, Josh Baxter, and Kyle Prystupa all hit the twine for the Thunder, who also got three assists from Matt Alexander in the win.
Vesa and John Antoniak scored for the Bulldogs, who trailed 4-1 after the first period and never recovered.
The Thunder next head to Dryden on Wednesday night to face the defending SIJHL champion Ice Dogs, who axed head coach Wayne Labrie in favour of Jason Tatarnic of St. Catharines before this past weekend’s action against the Fort William First Nation Wolves.
The game originally was scheduled for Dec. 18 but was postponed when Highway 502 was closed due to unsafe road conditions.
The Thunder then will host the Ice Dogs in a rematch this Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the Ice for Kids Arena.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
