Busy Night In SIJHL

There were three games in the SIJHL all of which significant. The Thunder Bay North Stars beat Minnesota 5-4 in overtime and now sit in second place after the tie-break, both teams are tied in points with forty. The Fort Frances Lakers destroyed Dryden 14-0 at home. All but two players had points for the Lakers who recently received fifth spot amongst national Junior A teams in the latest CJHL Top 20 Rankings. English River is now three points behind Dryden after their 5-2 win over Wisconsin, English River has four games in hand over the Ice Dogs.

North Stars Lose To Lakers

Daniel Delpaggio fired the hat trick, but it wasn't enough as the Thunder Bay North Stars fell 5-3 to the first place Lakers in Fort Frances Monday night.  Delpaggio has 19 goals in 23 games this season.  Nathaniel Dupuis stopped 43 of 48 shots in taking the loss in goal.  The Lakers improved their league leading record to 24-3-2.  The third place North Stars, with two games in hand,  are 12 points back at 17-6-4.  The North Stars play host to the second place Minnesota Iron Rangers this Friday night at 7:30 at the Fort William Gardens.
 

North Stars Fall In OT

The Thunder Bay North Stars picked up one point on the road, losing 5-4 in overtime to the Minnesota Iron Rangers Wednesday night in Hoyt Lakes, MN.  Nathaniel Dupuis took the loss in goal, stopping 36 shots. Zach Grzelewski and Kris Kellaway both scored twice for the North Stars who saw their second place record drop to 16-4-4.  Thunder Bay leads Minnesota by one point in the standings.  The North Stars and Iron Rangers meet again this Friday night.  The game will be played at Port Arthur Arena at 7:30.  The Stars are also at home Saturday night against the English River Miners at the Fort William Gardens at 7:30.

North Stars-Ice Dogs Game Postponed

The Thunder Bay North Stars game against the Ice Dogs in Dryden on Wednesday night was postponed due to inclement weather and poor road conditions.  The game will be made up at a later date.  The North Stars, currently the 15th ranked Junior "A" team in the country, play host to
the English River Miners this Friday and Saturday.  Game time at the Fort William Gardens is 7:30 both nights.

Thunderwolves Remain Tied For Tops In The West

The Lakehead Thunderwolves remain tied atop the OUA West Division after last nights 1-0 win over the York Lions. The lone goal was scored by Kelin Ainsworth and the win marked goalie Jeff Bosch's first shutout with Lakehead. Game two from Toronto is tonight at 7:00.

Westgate Loses Heartbreaker

The Westgate Tigers had a good showing at the Northern Bowl in Toronto on Thursday, but lost 20-13 to the St. Mary's Monarchs from Pickering.  The Monarchs scored the winning touchdown on a 27-yard pass play with four seconds remaining in the game.  Westgate had a 13-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter.  Josh Whitehurst and Tucker Arnold scored touchdowns for the Tigers.  The game was played at Centennial Park Stadium in Etobicoke.

Cats To Open At Home

For just the second time in their 12 year history, the Thunder Bay Border Cats will open the Northwoods League season at home.  The Cats 2014 season opener will take place at Subway Field on Tuesday, May 27th, at 7:05pm against the St. Cloud Rox.  The opener will be part of a four-game homestand as new manager Johnny Hernandez and the Cats will host St. Cloud for two games May (27-28), and the Duluth Huskies for a pair of games (May 29-30).  Thunder Bay plays its first road game at Alexandria against the Blue Anchors on Saturday, May 31st.  
 
The Northwoods League will move to a 72-game regular season in 2014 with nine teams in each division.  The Cats will again play in the North Division and welcome a new addition with the Eau Claire Express moving from the South Division to go along with existing clubs in Alexandria, Duluth, Mankato, Rochester, St. Cloud, Waterloo and Willmar.  The South Division will welcome two expansion clubs with the Kalamazoo (MI), Growlers and Kenosha (WI), Kingfish bringing the league to 18 teams.  The league will also feature season long intra-divisional play with Thunder Bay playing two game series at home and on the road against both the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters and Wisconsin Woodchucks from the South Division.    
 
The Cats will play four game day games at home during the 2014 season on May 28th at 11:05am versus St. Cloud, June 3rd at 11:05am versus Rochester, July 29th at 1:35pm versus Waterloo and July 30th at 12:05pm versus Duluth.  The July 30th date against the Huskies will include a split home and home doubleheader with the two teams also playing that night in Duluth following their day game in Thunder Bay.  The Cats will also play a split doubleheader against the Huskies with both games at Duluth on June 24th.
 
The Cats longest homestand consists of seven games from July 26th to August 1st and Thunder Bay closes out the regular season at Subway Field on August 9th and 10th against the Wisconsin Woodchucks.
 
Border Cats 2014 season tickets are now on sale at the team's office located in the Canada Games Complex or by calling (807) 766.CATS.  

Thunderwolves Shutout

A rare sight last night as the Lakehead Thunderwolves were shutout 1-0 for their second loss of the season. Thunder Bay native Colin Dzijacky made 37 saves for the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks who are 4-7-1, good for a sixth place tie in the OUA East division. James Woodcroft scored the games lone goal. The loss is Lakeheads first since an out of conference series against the Alberta Golden Bears. The Wolves are in a two way tie with Windsor and Toronto for first in the OUA West division.

Gap Closing On North Stars

The Thunder Bay North Stars have a two point lead over Dryden for third place in the SIJHL, following last nights 4-3 home loss to the Ice Dogs. Sixty-one PIMS were handed to the Stars who have now lost three of their last five games. Eric Mann made 31 saves in the loss. The win marks Drydens third straight and pushes the Ice Dogs to within four points of the second placed Minnesota Iron Rangers. Dryden has played four more games than the Rangers, seven more than the Stars. Game two of the weekend series tonight at 7:30 from the Gardens. A Thunder Bay win paired with a Minnesota loss would see the Stars leap back into second.

Playoffs Today

There's just one tie-breaker at the Dominion Canadian Curling Club Championships.  On the men's side, it's an-all East Coast matchup today at 1:15 as Nova Scotia plays Newfoundland/Labrador.  The winner faces the defending champion Dan Sherrard rink from Alberta.  The men's and women's semi-finals are set for tonight at 7 o'clock at the Fort William Curling Club.  Both Northern Ontario rinks missed the playoffs. Jason Strelezski of Sudbury finished 3-3 while the Kathie Jackson foursome from Fort Frances went 1-5.

North Stars Stop Lakers

Mathias Gardiman notched the hat trick as the Thunder Bay North Stars knocked off the Fort Frances Lakers 5-4 in a shootout Tuesday night at the Fort William Gardens.  Fort Frances came into the game as the number two ranked Junior "A" team in Canada and the loss ended the Lakers 15-game winning streak. Zach Grzelewski also scored for the Stars while Trevor Hynnes scored the winner in the fifth round of the shootout. Nathaniel Dupuis got the win in goal, stopping 37 shots.  Fort Frances continues to lead the SIJHL standings with a record of 16-1-2.  The North Stars are in second place at 12-2-3, seven points behind the Lakers with two games in hand.  Thunder Bay plays host to the Dryden Ice Dogs this Friday and Saturday at the Gardens.  Face off time both nights is 7:30.

Hynnes Leads North Stars

Trevor Hynnes notched the hat trick as the Thunder Bay North Stars whipped the Wisconsin Wilderness 9-4 Monday night at the Fort William Gardens.  The Stars (11-2-3), blew the game open with four unanswered goals in the second period.  Alex Vaillant scored twice for the winners with single goals going to Brandon Wolframe, Brett Wolframe, Mathias Gardiman and Zach Grzelewski.  Eric Mann got the win in net, splitting the goaltending duties with Jordan Kelso.  The two teams meet again Saturday in Spooner, Wisconsin.

North Stars Drop Two Straight

Last night marked the first time this season that the Thunder Bay North Stars dropped two consecutive games. The Minnesota Iron Rangers were given the tough task of playing back to back games at the Fort William Gardens where the Stars were 4-1-0 entering the weekend. Last nights 2-1 win pushed Minnesota to within two points of second. Jason Reynolds had both Rangers goals, Zach Grzelewski scored for the Stars.
 

North Stars Look To Avoid Consecutive Losses

The Thunder Bay North Stars will look to bounce back against Minnesota after last nights 5-4 shootout loss. They will remain without the help of Daniel Delpaggio who is in Nova Scotia playing for Team Canada West during the CJHL Prospects Tournament. The Stars are eight points out of first place with three games in hand on Fort Frances.

Lakehead Sweeps Laurentian

The Lakehead Thunderwolves swept their two game series against the Laurentian Voyageurs with a 4-1 win in Sudbury last night. Cody Alcock had two goals for the Wolves who are now 7-1-0 and tied with Windsor for first in the West Division. Their next game is Friday November 15th against the Concordia Stingers.

T-Wolves Win In Sudbury

Freshman Paul Thompson scored his first two goals with the Thunderwolves as Lakehead bounced Laurentian 7-1 last night in Sudbury in a rare Thursday game for LU.  The T-Wolves improved their OUA record to 6-1 heading into the second game of the series tonight. Rookie netminder Justin McDonald recorded 25 saves and lost his shutout bid with just over a minute to play in the third period.    

Delpaggio Leads Stars

Daniel Delpaggio scored twice to lead the Thunder Bay North Stars to a 5-3 win over the Dryden Ice Dogs in SIJHL play Tuesday at the Fort William Gardens.  Earlier in the day it was announced that the 17-year old forward  will represent the North Stars on the Team West roster for the Canadian Junior Hockey League's Prospects Games Nov 8th and 9th in Nova Scotia.  Delpaggio leads Thunder Bay in scoring with 9 goals and 8 assists in 13 games.  Matthias Gardiman, Brandon Wolframe and Cary Brown also scored the Stars against the Ice Dogs.  Nathaniel Dupuis, returning to the net after suffering a broken toe on September 24th, stopped 34 shots for the win. Thunder Bay remains in second place with a record of 10-1-2.  The North Stars play host to the Minnesota Iron Rangers this Friday and Saturday at the Gardens.  Face off time both nights is 7:30.  

North Stars Fall To Miners

The Thunder Bay North Stars blew a 2-0 third period lead and lost 3-2 in a shootout to the English River Miners Tuesday night in Ear Falls.  Kenny Turner and Keanu Adduono scored the Stars while Eric Mann took the loss in goal.  Thunder Bay's second place record now stands at 8-1 and 2.  The North Stars travel to Spooner this weekend for games Friday and Saturday against the Wisconsin Wilderness.

North Stars Escape With W

The Thunder Bay North Stars escaped with a 6-4 win over Minnesota at the Fort Williams Gardens last night. Rookie Daniel Delpaggio had a hat-trick and gave the Stars a 6-1 lead early in the third. The Iron Rangers countered soon after off a goal from Tyler Tuneberg, and closed the gap after two more from Trevor Hoth. The Stars next game is Tuesday the 29th in English River.

North Stars Climb Rankings

The Thunder Bay North Stars have climbed to third overall in the latest  CJHL rankings. The Stars remain unbeaten in regulation with a record of 6-0-1, good for thirteen points and second place in the SIJHL. The Fort Frances Lakers are first with fifteen points and a record of 7-1-0-1. The strong start has earned them an honorable mention. The Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the AJHL sit first overall.

Miners Deal Player To Lakers

The English River Miners have pulled the trigger on a trade. The Miners have traded the playing rights of Colton Spicer to Fort Frances. English River gets Ben Smaha and Bryson Jasper in return.Jasper was second on the Lakers in scoring with 4-goals and 7-assists.Smaha didn't register a point in four games with Fort Frances. Spicer was acquired in a trade with Portage of the Manitoba League last weekend and returns to Fort Frances where he was a standout player last season.

North Stars Win Big

The Thunder Bay North Stars ran their SIJHL record to 6-0 and 1 as they won their home opener 10-5 over the Dryden Ice Dogs Wednesday at the Fort William Gardens.  The win moved Thunder Bay into second place, one point ahead of Dryden.  The North Stars had a 10-1 lead in the third period before the Ice Dogs scored the final four goals of the game.  Rookie Zach Grzelewski, Cary Brown and Kris Kellaway all scored twice for the Stars, who play host to the expansion English River Miners this Friday night at the Gardens at 7:30

Rock Climbing in Thunder Bay

The Thunder Bay region will be featured in an upcoming edition of Gripped, a rock climbing magazine. Editor Brandon Pullan is the editor and says the region is great for climbers because of uncommon rock types, ease of access and low risk winter climbing. The feature will focus on locations around the region including some spots right here in the city. It will run in February and April.

North Stars On The Road

The Thunder Bay North Stars look to continue their hot start this season, on the road against the struggling English River Miners. The Miners sit in second last with a record of 1-5-1, their lone win coming against the Wisconsin Wilderness who sit in last. The North Stars lost their last game 3-2 in the shootout to Fort Frances but remain undefeated in regulation at 4-0-1. This is game one of a home and home, puck drop at 7:00 at the Ear Falls Arena, 7:30 tomorrow at the Gardens.

Thunderwolves vs RMC

The Lakehead Thunderwolves beat the RMC Paladins 5-2 last night at a packed Fort William Gardens. Freshman Matt Kaarela picked up the hat-trick and now leads the team in scoring with five point in four games. The two teams play tonight at the Gardens, puck drop at 7:30.

North Stars Fall In Fort Frances

The Thunder Bay North Stars suffered their first loss in five games last night, but they still managed to get one point, losing 3-2 in a shootout to the Fort Frances Lakers.  The Lakers hold a two point lead over the North Stars atop the SIJHL standings.  Matthias Gardiman had both goals for the North Stars, who have one more road game before playing their home opener Tuesday, October 15th, against Dryden at the Fort William Gardens.

Wolves Fall In Duluth

The Lakehead Thunderwolves wrapped up their preseason losing 7-1 to the UMD Bulldogs Monday night in Duluth.  The Bulldogs put the game away with four third period goals.  Jake Carrick had the lone goal for the Wolves who open their OUA season this weekend at home against the RMC Palladins.

Thunderwolves Lose At Gardens

The Lakehead Thunderwolves were downed 7-1 by the UPEI Panthers on Saturday night at the Fort William Gardens.  The Thunderwolves will hit the road to take on the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs on Monday night.

Local Hockey Round Up

The Lakehead Thunderwolves lost their first game of the season last night to the Prince Edward Island Panthers.  Over 3 thousand people took in the game at the Fort William Gardens that saw the Thunderwolves fall 4-1 to the Panthers.  Both teams will go back at it tonight at the Gardens.   In the SIJHL...Thunder Bay's North Stars beat the Dryden Ice Dogs 5 to 2 at the Dryden Memorial Arena.

Hernandez New B.Cats Field Boss

The Thunder Bay Border Cats have named Johnny Hernandez as their new field manager.  The 33-year old New York native is currently an assistant coach at Long Island University-Brooklyn.  Hernandez replaces Dan Holcomb after the Border Cats recorded a franchise low 21 wins this past summer.

Wolframe Is POTW

A forward for the Thunder Bay North Stars has been named SIJHL Player of The Week. 19-year-old Brandon Wolframe had a big week on the ice, recording 8-points in two North Stars' wins. Wolframe is now tied for second place in the SIJHL scoring race. He's also tied for second in league assists. Dryden's Rory Court and English River's P.D. Melgoza received honourable mention.

North Stars Release Schedule

The Thunder Bay North Stars will kick off the junior hockey season with a seven game road trip beginning September 20th in Fort Frances.  The North Stars' home opener is October 15th against the Dryden Ice Dogs.