Nathaniel Dupuis was just 17 years old when he first joined the Thunder Bay North Stars. After a one season stint playing Junior B he has now earned the top spot on the goaltender depth chart.
Making his second start of the season, Dupuis helped make the home opener a success as the North Stars defeated Minnesota Iron Rangers 4-0. Dupuis stopped all 31 shots he faced to improve to 2-0 and sports an impressive .956 save%.
Dupuis played 61 games for the North Stars from 2013-15 then found himself behind two 20-year olds (Riley Corbin and Eric Mann) last fall. So the veteran took on the role of full time starter for the Schreiber Falcons in 2015-16. In 17 regular season games he faced 660 shots. Six times Dupuis made over 40 saves in a game with a season-high 70 saves against the Thunder Bay Northern Hawks in January.
Now 20 years old himself, Dupuis is experienced and confident.
“Feels good to be back,” said Dupuis. “I feel very comfortable with the team in front of me.”
Thunder Bay (2-0-0-0) will take to the road on Friday facing another undefeated team in Dryden Ice Dogs (2-0-0-0). Game time is scheduled for 7:30 PM.