SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
SIJHL MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Thunder Bay needs 5-goal 1st to hold off Minnesota
THUNDER BAY, Ont. – The Thunder Bay North Stars erupted for five first period goals then had to hold on for a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Iron Rangers Tuesday evening in a Superior International Junior Hockey League match-up at the Fort William Gardens.
The North Stars set the tone early grabbing a 2-0 lead before the contest was four minutes old on efforts from Brett Wolframe and JesseTalakoski.
Thunder Bay continued to press the attack and tacked on two more by the midway mark of the opening frame with Troy Sherman supplying his 14th of the season and Avery Siau his first.
The offensive onslaught continued at 17:14 as John Parrott added to the cushion.
Minnesota salvaged something out of the period as Jack Stensgard notched his 16th with 30 seconds remaining in the stanza to give him points in eight of his past nine outings.
The Iron Rangers regrouped in the second and picked up the lone tally of the session at 15:44 when Sheamus Stoyle recorded his fifth of marker of 2016-17.
After Brendan Gillis made it 6-2 Thunder Bay in the third, Minnesota continued to battle back getting goals 80 seconds apart from Korey Muzzy and Mark Sanchez to pull within two with over six minutes to play.
However the visitors’ comeback bid would end there as the Stars held on for the win.
Nathaniel Dupuis turned aside 38 shots to register the decision in net for the home side while Jackson Nelson faced 36 attempts in a losing cause for the Iron Rangers.