By Gary Moskalyk
Thunder Bay, ON – Thunder Bay scored the three second period goals in a span of 1:58 to defeat Dryden 4-2 before 611 fans at the Fort William Gardens.
The game was shortened to two periods due to poor ice conditions.
EJ Paddington went five-hole on Dryden goalie Ewan Soutar at 17:04 of the first for his 32nd for a 1-0 Thunder Bay lead.
Beau Helmeczi collected his own rebound and his 15th of the year at 2:59 of the second to open up the North Star barrage. Easton Glousher got his 5th of the year less than a minute later, one-timing a feed from Dimitri Trahiotis. Easton Mikus capped off his fine rookie season with his 31st on a Thunder Bay powerplay at 4:57 to round out the binge and give Thunder Bay a 4-0 lead.
Interim Dryden head coach Jake Gushue called a time out and the strategy paid off. Stanislav Boiarchuk scored from the slot glove side on Ben Laurette to get the Ice Dogs on the board at 5:31 just 34 seconds later. Max Roby garnered his 29th on a wrister as the Stars failed to clear the zone to draw Dryden to within two at 13:45.
After the second period flood, a flaw on the ice near the Zamboni doors was discovered and despite all best efforts, proved to be beyond fixing in a reasonable time frame, awarding the game to Thunder Bay.
Ben Laurette won his 9th game and ended the season with a 9-0-1 record to remain undefeated in regulation time, stopping 25 of 27 for Thunder Bay. Soutar dropped to 14-9-1 making 28 saves in the Dryden net.
Thunder Bay was 1-4 on the powerplay while killing off two Dryden chances.
Trahiotis had two assists for Thunder Bay. He was the only two-point player in the game.
Edison Weeks, though held pointless in this game, won the scoring title with 75 points. He was one of two North Stars to play in all 49 games. In his two-plus seasons spanning 119 regular season games and 26 playoff games the North Star captain has never missed a game.
The Thunder Bay/Wisconsin series opens Friday at the Gardens. Dryden’s series against Red Lake opens Friday in Dryden.