THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay under-18 Kings are off to Sudbury this weekend for Great North U18 Hockey League Play-In games in an attempt to qualify for postseason competition.
A three-team field will see the Kings, Timmins Majors and Sudbury Wolves taking part in head-to-head action, to see who moves on.
The Majors and Wolves meet Friday night at 7:30 p.m., before Thunder Bay and Timmins go at it Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m.
Round robin then wraps up Saturday night when the Kings and Wolves face-off at 7:30 p.m.
From there, the top two sides will determine a winner Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m.
As for the Thunder Bay under-14 Kings, they are off to Eau Claire, Wis., for a trio of contests against the Wisconsin Jr. Guardians.
They’ll meet Friday night at 7 p.m. before tangling twice Saturday at 11:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. back in Eau Claire.
WEEKEND WRAP
The U18s finished up their regular season in the GNU18HL this past weekend going 1-3 against North Bay Trappers U18 and U16 squads in Powassan, Ont.
Taking on the first place U18 Trappers to begin, the Kings were dropped 4-1.
Aiden Edwards gave them an early lead on assists from Sawyer Smith and Michael Figliomeni, but North Bay rallied with four unanswered markers, including three in the final frame, to collect the result.
Next came a 5-3 loss to the U16 Trappers.
Smith, Edwards and Mikita Dolmat all scored on the power play while Ben Paddington and Nathan Vita dished out two assists each.
Regular season title holders North Bay showed why they boasted a league-best 37-1-0-0 overall mark by blanking Thunder Bay 6-0 in their third game.
Posting his GNU18HL-leading fifth shutout in that one was Carson Ruddy, with Scott Szczygiel and Francis Popkie supplying three points apiece to pace them offensively.
The Kings did finish up on a winning note by bouncing the U16 Trappers 7-3.
After North Bay clicked on a man advantage, Thunder Bay saw Jackson Walker, Owen Bradley, Dolmat and Vita all find the back of the net to take a 4-1 cushion into the first intermission.
Walker, Vita and Jackson Pucci then banged in three more markers in the middle stanza to help secure the result.
They also saw Paddington and Figliomeni pick up a trio of helpers apiece in the triumph while Kainaan MacGillivray got the win in net.
As for Thunder Bay’s under-16 squad, they took to the ice twice against the Omaha Mastery of Nebraska in a two-game set at the Super Rinks in Blaine, Minn.
They began with a narrow 2-1 setback, with Charlie Crane connecting on the power play for the club’s lone tally, on an assist supplied by Christian Ianni.
Kings’ netminder Matthew Bourget was stellar in defeat making 36 saves along the way.
Omaha then wrapped it up with a 4-0 win, with Thunder Bay goaltender Carter Johnson being called upon to make 46 stops in being peppered by the Mastery, coached by Kings’ alumnus Billy Pugliese, who is also an amateur scout for the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks.
Meanwhile, the U15 Kings went 3-0-1 in a four-pack of games in Blaine.
Taking on Omaha, they played to a 2-2 overtime draw before pulling out a narrow 2-1 triumph.
They followed that up with 6-3 and 5-3 victories versus the Wisconsin Jr. Guardians.
SCHEDULE
Friday, March 6
U14: vs. Wisconsin Jr. Guardians 7 p.m. (Hobbs Ice Arena)
Saturday, March 7
U18: vs. Timmins Majors 9:30 a.m. (Countryside Sports Complex)
U14: vs. Wisconsin Jr. Guardians 11:45 a.m. (Hobbs Ice Arena)
U14: vs. Wisconsin Jr. Guardians 3:30 p.m. (Hobbs Ice Arena)
U18: vs. Sudbury Wolves 7:30 p.m. (Countryside Sports Complex)
Sunday, March 8
U18: T.B.A. 8:30 a.m. (Countryside Sports Complex)
Photo credit: James Mirabelli
