THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. – A five-goal second period barrage helped send the Thief River Falls Norskies to an eventual 6-4 triumph over the Wisconsin Lumberjacks in their first-ever Superior International Junior Hockey League meeting Friday at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Wisconsin out shot Thief River Falls 15-9 in the opening 20 minutes, but neither side would connect offensively.
That changed in the middle session however, as the two clubs combined for seven markers, including five by the Norskies.
The flurry of activity began at 5:10 as Cole Carpenter buried one for the hosts from the slot.
Coming back a couple shifts later, the visitors drew level on a Ryan Green effort.
Thief River Falls then broke it open when they scored four times in just over a five-minute span as Tyler Johnson, Nick Harder, Colton Kalthoff and Joe Collins all connected to make it 5-1.
The Lumberjacks got one back at 19:30 when Parker Brakebill went top shelf from between the circles to get the visitors closer.
In the third, Jack Michels picked up a nice tally for the Norskies as he sped down the left wing before cutting in and tucking the puck between the legs of Wisconsin goalkeeper Michael Siciliano.
Later in the frame, Brakebill, on another impressive wrist shot, and a Dalton Garcia effort, 29 seconds apart, got the Lumberjacks to within two, but that’s as close as they would get before time expired.
Isaac Baron and Dan Paseschnikoff both dished out two assists to aid the TRF offensive cause.
Shots on net ended up 34-32, with Wisconsin holding the edge while Seth Purcilly picked up the win while Siciliano suffered the loss.
Photo credit: Tim Burton