Like a pesky mosquito at a family picnic, the Borderland Thunder refused to go away Saturday night.
The SIJHL’s top squad charged back from a three-goal second-period deficit, then scored twice in the final two minutes to steal a 7-6 win from the host Thunder Bay KC Bulldogs.
“We found a way to win,” said Thunder head coach Dave Allison, who saw his team lose the opener of the two-game set 4-2 on Friday night.
“They kept battling. You’ve got to give them kudos for their perseverance,” Allison added.
The Bulldogs (12-7-1-1), who still hold two games in hand on the Thunder (14-5-3-1), could have pulled within two points of first place with a win Saturday.
They looked well on their way to doing so, leading 5-2 in the second.
But Josh McAndrew’s power-play goal at 8:59 of the period was the turning point for the Thunder.
Before the period ended, Josh Baxter and Chad Baldwin sandwiched goals around the second of the game by the Bulldogs’ Rylan Vesa to make it 6-5 for the hosts heading to the third.
With goalie Dan Hoehne pulled for an extra attacker, Baldwin scored his second of the night at 18:24 to tie the game.
Kyle Prystupa then capped the comeback with 36 seconds to play, converting a feed from McAndrew, who had four points in the game.
Rob Scales and Ian Lockman had the other goals for the Thunder while Brady Laskowski, Chris King, Brian Dzijak, and Trevor Karasiewicz also scored for the Bulldogs.
Karasiewicz and Bobby Wrigley staked Thunder Bay to a 2-0 lead after the first period Friday night.
Prystupa cut the deficit in half at 12:56 of the second, but Wrigley countered a minute later with his second of the game.
Chris Schaen beat Bulldogs’ goalie Keith Anderson at 1:46 of the third to make it 3-2, but Dzijak fired an empty-netter with one second left to ice the victory.
The Thunder now have 13 days off before hosting the Bulldogs for a two-game rematch Dec. 13-14 at the Ice for Kids Arena.
In related news, Allison announced yesterday that defencemen Nathan McEntee and Todd Rendall were being reassigned, with their destinations undetermined at this point.
The moves were made so the Thunder could meet the SIJHL’s deadline of midnight yesterday for having a maximum of 25 carded players on each team’s roster.
McEntee had one goal and two assists in eight games since coming from the Southeast Blades of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
Rendall recorded one goal and one assist in his eight-game stint after joining the team from the La Ronge Ice Wolves of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
