Kap keeps up with NB
Veteran-laden Kapuskasing Flyers were primed to give the pennant-winning North Bay Trappers all they could handle in their Great North Midget Hockey League semi-final playoff series — and through two games they have done just that.
Fourth-place finishers during the regular season — the Flyers finished 10 points behind the Trappers — Kapuskasing has matched North Bay goal for goal during the opening two games of the best-of-five set.
After dropping the series opener 2-1 on Friday, the visitors from Kapuskasing got an overtime goal from feisty Jacy Fillion on Saturday to edge North Bay 5-4 and even the playoff at a game apiece.
Games 3 and 4 are slated for Kapuskasing next weekend where the Flyers are expected to draw more than 700 fans per outing.
Prior to Fillion’s game winner, Mathieu Parent scored twice for Kapuskasing and Samuel Bourdages and Sebastien Despatie tallied once apiece. Bourdages had scored a league-high 39 goals during the regular season.
Ryan Mills, Ian Denomme, Joe Whittet and Bailey Chenier scored for North Bay.
An example of the vast age and experience level difference between the two teams is that Kapuskasing has no less than 11 players born in 1999 compared to one for youth-laden North Bay.
Meanwhile, in the other semi-final series, Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves have a 1-0 lead on the Soo Greyhounds by virtue of a 4-2 win from Saturday. Game 2 goes today in Sudbury.
PHOTO: Samuel Bourdages of the Kapuskasing Flyers. (Photo by Dave Dale.)