Kam River takes 3-2 lead
Fourth line forward Kennan Reyelts scored twice and added an assist and the Kam River Fighting Walleye withstood a Thunder Bay North Stars rally to score a 4-3 Sunday night win over its crosstown foes. Kam River now leads the Superior International Jr. Hockey League championship series three games to two.
Game 6 is slated for tonight at 7:30 at Fort William Gardens. A win for Kam River, which at one point trailed this series 2-0, would give the second year franchise its first SIJHL championship. Thunder Bay, on the other hand, is used to elimination games in this spring’s playoffs. The North Stars trailed the Dryden Ice Dogs three games to one in the semi finals before winning the next three, including Games 5 and 7 on the road.
As for Game 5 of the current series, playing before a home crowd of 875 at Norwest Arena, Kam River had a 4-0 lead by the midway point of the second period. But Thunder Bay scored two power play goals before the second stanza was out and tallied once again with the extra man part way through the third period to narrow the margin to 4-3. Notably, Kam River was assessed five straight minor penalties — including a double minor — within 10 minutes and 40 seconds of each other in the third period.
Besides the three-point performance of the aforementioned Reyelts — who joined the Fighting Walleye from the Manitoba Jr. Hockey League mid season and subsequently put up six goals in 22 games for Kam River — goalie Eric Vanska made 47 saves for the home side.