hunder Bay Kings AAA Hockey
Media Update
Release date: Friday, Feb. 17, 2017
Major midget Kings win NAPHL Dixon Cup playoff opener; Minors drop 1st game
TROY, Mich. – The Thunder Bay major midget Kings are off to a winning start at the North American Prospects Hockey League’s Dixon Cup Gold Division championship tournament in Troy, Mich, while the minor midgets fell in their opener.
The majors got the game-winning goal 64 seconds into overtime from Cody Bruchkowski to help lift them to a 4-3 come from behind victory over the Madison Capitols while the minors dropped a 3-1 decision to the Everett Silvertips in their initial contest.
Major midget under-18 action saw Madison get on the board first in the middle session, after a scoreless opening period, before Logan Mihalcin tied it for Thunder Bay on the power play 12 and a half minutes into the stanza.
The Capitols regained the lead before the second period had expired, but Kings drew level again early in the third on a Garrett Gammond effort.
Madison went back in front for a third time however Thunder Bay forced extra time with 1:36 remaining in regulation on Jacob Brown’s equalizer.
Then early in OT the Kings completed the comeback on Bruchkowski’s winner.
Ryan Fanti picked up the win in net.
The club returns to the ice later today when they take on No. 4 seed Omaha AAA at 3:15 p.m.
Their lone game Saturday has them squaring off with the St. Louis Selects at 5 p.m.
As for the minor midget’s match-up vs. Everett, they trailed 1-0 after the first and second stanzas then 3-0 late into the contest before finally getting on the board with 1:07 to go thanks to Jesse Appel in the loss to the Silvertips.
They will take to the ice twice Saturday with match-ups against Omaha’s U-16 side at 11 a.m. before tangling with Pennsylvania’s Esmark Stars at 5:15 p.m.
All NAPHL Dixon Cup contests are being streamed live online at HockeyTV.com.
