THUNDER BAY, Ont. – The Thunder Bay North Stars trio of Cody Bruchkowski, Jett Leishman and Jacob Brown combined for eight points in leading their club to a 4-2 triumph over the Wisconsin Lumberjacks Friday in a Superior International Junior Hockey League contest that was held at Fort William First Nation Arena.
First period play saw the North Stars skate out to a 2-0 lead on tallies from Brown and Leishman.
Action in the second stanza saw Wisconsin get on the board at 2:42 when Braden LaPorte buried his third of the season with an attempt from the high slot that went upstairs on goalkeeper Jordan Smith.
Thunder Bay restored their two-goal lead a couple of minutes later when Alex Erwin redirected a Maxime Fortin point shot that got past Lumberjacks netminder Nathan Mueller.
On the man advantage later in the session, the visitors made it 3-2 after two when Cameron Birkeland banked one into the open side after Parker Brakebill fired one off the post.
It stayed that way until the final seconds of the contest when Bruchkowski sealed the victory with a late empty netter.
Smith made 34 saves to record the win while Mueller faced 37 attempts in defeat.
The two sides will meet again Saturday at 7:30 p.m. as they head back to the North Stars regular venue, the Fort William Gardens.
Photo credit: Gary Moskalyk