SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
SIJHL MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017
Photo credit: Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com
Dryden drops Thunder Bay in OT
THUNDER BAY, Ont. – A Derek McPhail goal 3:55 into overtime was the difference as the Dryden GM Ice Dogs defeated the Thunder Bay North Stars 4-3 Saturday in a Superior International Junior Hockey League match-up at the Fort William Gardens.
Dryden also opened the scoring just past the two-minute mark of the contest as Braeden Allkins struck shorthanded to notch his league-leading 36th goal of the season.
Thunder Bay would get the equalizer at 13:35 of the first when Nicholas Nigro collected his 27th of the campaign to knot the affair at 1-1 after one.
The North Stars then went in front three minutes into the second stanza on a Tyler Minoletti effort only to see Chris Atanas register his first SIJHL goal for the GM Ice Dogs four minutes later.
The back and forth affair saw the visitors go up 3-2 midway through the third thanks to a Tristan Knott effort.
In the late going Thunder Bay forced extra time when Jonathon Masters tied it with 1:38 remaining in regulation.
Heading to OT, the North Stars picked up a power play and an opportunity to win it, but first place Dryden successfully handled that and then proceeded to win it as Derek McPhail drove down the left side and snapped the game-winner under the left pad of North Stars’ netminder Nathaniel Dupuis to end it.
The SIJHL’s top scorer in Allkins chipped in with two assists to go along with his goal to give him a league-best 72 points on the season.
Ben Dennis made 33 saves to record the win for the GM Ice Dogs as he improved to an impressive 16-0-1-0 on the season.
Dupuis faced 32 shots in defeat for Thunder Bay.