By James Brohm
Sioux Lookout, ON – Game two in the semi-final series between the Thunder Bay North Stars and the Sioux Lookout Bombers was nothing short of an all out battle. The teams fought for every inch of ice through 60 minutes of play. Once again, the Hangar was packed with 522 fans.
Blake Burke started the scoring at 2:11 into the first frame, taking a centering pass from Owen Riffel behind the net and potting it behind North Stars’ goalie Ben Laurette. Just around the 5 minute mark, EJ Paddington tied the game up on the power play. The game remained tied 1-1 for the rest of the period.
The Bombers regained the lead at 9:41 of the second period. Trever Sanderson blasted a shot from the right faceoff dot on the power play. Ty Lone tipped a Jonah Smith point shot for his first goal of the post-season at 10:10. The North Stars bounced back, and Alex Remenda redirected a Garren Voisey on the power play past Jack Osmond. Thunder Bay captain, Edison Weeks tied the game at two with five minutes to go in the period.
The early minutes of the third period saw the two teams trade goals again. First Cobe Delaney scored for the Bombers 38 seconds in and Beau Helmeczi with a nifty move backhanded a shot past Osmond at 1:59. Thunder Bay got into some penalty trouble in the second half of the period and it proved costly. Alex Lucas and Owen Cotter both posted goals on separate man-advantages, putting the Bombers up 6-4 late in the period. An empty net goal by Jonah Smith sealed the victory for the home team.
Ben Laurette made 33 saves on 40 shots for the North Stars and Jack Osmond stopped 30 of 34 shots that came his way. Cobe Delaney’s 3-point night earned him the third star. His cousin, Trever Sanderson was the second star with one goal and one assist. The first star was awarded to Alex Lucas whose first goal of the playoffs was the game winner. With the Bombers holding a two-game lead on the North Stars, the series will now move to the Fort William Gardens for games three and four on Monday and Tuesday.