2025 SIJHL Playoffs Round 1 Games 1 & 2 Recap
Recap by Gary Moskalyk
 | AT KAM RIVER FIGHTING WALLEYE |  | ||
| Daxton Lang notched two goals and added an assist as the Fighting Walleye overcame a 1-0 deficit to score the next five, outshooting the visitors 46-23, en route to a 5-1 win before 511 patrons at Norwest Arena. Jack Carruthers scored from the slot at 7:45 of the first on a Lumberjacks' power play to give Ironwood a 1-0 lead. Consecutive goals by Lang 1:15 apart and Amar Powar's goal with 30 seconds left in the first gave Kam River a 3-1 lead after twenty minutes. Lang's first strike came at the expiration of a Kam River penalty kill. His second came on a rebound collection at 14:45. Good forechecking resulted in Powar's goal, with Zach Baumann and Carter Poddubny collecting assists. Kam River added two in the second. Jacob Lamoureux put the finishing touches on a tic tac toe with Lang and Kaden Goodwin. The power play marker came at 1:47. Baumann made it 5-1 with a snipe from the high slot area at 10:47. The third period was scoreless. Ashton Sadauskas stopped 22 of 23 for the win. Trent Boryszczuk saved 41 of 46 in the loss. Kam River was 2-4 with the man advantage. Ironwood was 1-6. Kam River took six of 11 minor penalties. Powar and Baumann had a goal and assist each, and Max Wright and Poddubny had two assists each for Walleye--who sported Fish-named jerseys to take the 1-0 series lead. |
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| Carter Poddubny had two goals and an assist to power the Fighting Walleye to a 2-0 series lead over Ironwood. The series resumes next Tuesday and Wednesday in Michigan. Poddubny has five playoff points. The Lumberjacks took a 2-1 lead through the first period and maintained it through the game's first half. Aidan Charron converted a 2-on-1 with Matteo Salvatore at 4:05 to give Ironwood a 1-0 lead. Zach Baumann tied the game at 10:33, accepting Poddubny's centering pass for his second of the playoffs. Felix St. Onge went top shelf over Ashton Sadauskas' shoulder to re-establish the Lumberjack's one-goal edge at 12:30. The Walleye erupted for three unanswered goals in a 1:46 span to tie the game go up by two in the second period. Amar Power deflected Evan Lachimea's point shot to knot the score at 9:57. Poddubny displayed his deft scoring touch with a masterful dangle and snipe 40 seconds later. Kaden Goodwin combined with Daxton Lang and Edwin Liang less than minute later on a Kam River power play. Poddubny barged through for his second of the game at 12:33 of the third, and Jacob Lamoureux garnered a loose puck and got it past Trent Boryszczuk at 16:47 for the final 6-2 win. Kam River outshot Ironwood 39-23 overall. Sadauskas picked up his second win. Lang had a two assist night for the Walleye. Charron added a helper for two points for Ironwood. Kam River took 28 of 38 penalty minutes. The Lumberjacks were 0-6 with the man advantage. Kam River was 1-3. Norwest attendance was 509. |
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 | AT THUNDER BAY NORTH STARS |  | ||
| Ian Ness' goal 58 seconds into overtime completed a stunning Lakers comeback win as Fort Frances defeated Thunder 4-3 before 812 fans at the Gardens to take a 1-0 series lead. After a scoreless first, the Stars crafted a 3-0 second period lead. Evan Simeoni got the North Stars rolling. Tyler Jordan stripped the Lakers of the puck, dealing a pass to Simeoni who deposited one five-hole behind Gunner Paradis at 1:50. Defenceman Tag Bryson, goalless since October but with 55 assists on the regular season, scored on a one-timer after a rebound landed directly on his stick on a Stars power play for a 2-0 lead. Jordan scored at 19:13, accepting a backhand pass from Simeoni and firing it in from the left side. The Stars were in total command at this point, with Marks 20 for 20 in the saves department. Simon's seemingly harmless dump in from centre ice proved to be an absolute turning point writ large. The innocent play resulted in a one in a million goal and turned the game around with seven seconds left in the second frame. The Lakers did not squander the momentum. Brady Krentz scored at 3:20 of the third, accepting Jack Wood's backhand pass and scoring from Marks' doorstep. Krentz then tied the game at 9:06, backhanding one past Marks on a Lakers 2-on-1 to knot the score. Thunder Bay killed off a late third period penalty that extended into 18 seconds of overtime. Ness scored on a partial breakaway less than a minute in to give the Lakers the game one win. Paradis stopped 23 of 26 for the 'W' while Marks saved 27 of 31. Jordan added two assists for three points. Connor Larrett had three assists and Simeoni had two points for the Stars. Krentz' two goals led the Lakers. Simon also assisted on a goal. Both teams drew four minor penalties each. |
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| Keenan Marks made 25 saves and Connor Larrett and Tyler Jordan had a goal and assist each as Thunder Bay tied the series with a 4-1 win over the Lakers before 738 fans at the Gardens. Both Jordan and Larrett have five playoff points. Jordan got the only goal of the first, connecting from the slot on a nifty backhand pass from Evan Simeoni at 14:56. Thunder Bay native Ben Exell tied it at 3:35 of the second, scooting down the right wing and getting one through the five-hole. Tag Bryson got his second of the playoffs, doing the circle route in the Fort Frances zone before firing one from the point beating Gunner Paradis for a 2-1 Thunder Bay lead. Larrett and Alex Remenda added to the lead with third period goals to put the game on ice. Larrett did a wrap around at 9:13 and Remenda accepted Marcellus Francis silky pass and drilled in his first of the playoffs at 12:58. Simeoni also had a two-point night for the Stars. Paradis made 25 saves in the Lakers' net. The Lakers took eight minor penalties to Thunder Bay's three. The Stars were 0-5 on the power play while Fort Frances was 0-2. The series resumes Tuesday and Wednesday in Fort Frances. |
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 | AT SIOUX LOOKOUT BOMBERS |  | ||
| Alex Lucas scored a hat trick and assisted on two others to lead the Bombers to a 1-0 series lead with a 5-2 win over Red Lake. Attendance at the Hangar was 392. The score was tied 2-2 through 40 minutes before the Bombers scored three unanswered third period goals to pull away. Special teams reigned throughout the contest. Quinn Szpak opened the scoring at 17:23 of the first with Foxx McColl assisting on a Red Lake power play. Lucas got his first of the game 56 seconds later on a Bombers power play, tipping in Jonah Smith's point shot. The second period featured back-to-back power play goals, mirroring the first period scoring. Brodie Wood tapped home a rebound to give Sioux Lookout a 2-1 lead at 14:24. Szpak's second of the game for Red Lake 1:11 later on a centering feed from Bryant Linklater tied the game at 2-2. The Bombers fired 20 shots at Nick Peters in the third. Lucas got his second of the game with the teams at normal strength at 6:38. He netted his hatty at 17:46 on yet another power play tally, deflecting a Jonah Smith point shot for a 4-2 Bombers' lead. Brodie Wood's empty netter with 12 seconds left--his second of the game--capped the win. Matthew Ofukany garnered the victory for Sioux Lookout, making 36 saves. Peters shouldered the loss for Red Lake, stopping 32 of 36. Sioux Lookout's power play was 3-6 while Red Lake's was 2-2. The Miners took seven of 11 minor penalties. Wood added one assist for three points. Smith assisted on all of Lucas' goals. Szpak had both Red Lake goals. Gabe Tanton assisted on both. |
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| Gabe Tanton tied the game and assisted on the game winner and Nick Peters shunted aside 25 of 26 shots as the Miners defeated Sioux Lookout 2-1n before an estimated crowd of 450 at the Hangar, tying the series a one game apiece. Jonah Smith had the best chance of the scoreless first frame. Peters made perhaps his best save of the game thwarting Smith's power play drive from the slot at the nine-minute mark. Owen Cotter got the lone goal of the second. Michael Casey head manned the puck to Cotter who scored at 6:54 for a 1-0 Bomber lead. Tanton tied the game at 3:50 of the third, snapping a wrist shot high glove side on Matthew Spencer-Dahl. Foxx McColl worked his way to the front of the net on a Miners' power play and fired in his second of the playoffs at 10:46. The goal stood as the game winner. Spencer-Dahl was pulled for an extra man with 1:30 left. The Bombers couldn't muster the equalizer. Peters had the best chance to score, taking aim at the empty cage and hitting the post with time running out. Both teams took five minor penalties. Red Lake was 1-4 on the power play while Sioux Lookout was 0-4. The series resumes in Red Lake Tuesday and Wednesday. |
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