hunder Bay Kings AAA Hockey
Media Update
Release date: Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017
Playoff implications for Kings with win and loss in NAPHL play Sunday
TROY, Mich. – North American Prospects Hockey League play Sunday in Troy, Mich., saw the Thunder Bay major midget Kings defeat the Wenatchee Wild 3-1 while the minor midget side was bounced 6-1 by Omaha AAA in the club’s lone games of the day.
In the under-18 match-up, Thunder Bay got a pair of late markers in the first period to gain the upper hand on the Wild.
Jayden Wojciechowski scored on the power play with 2:14 left in the session before Quintin Loon-Stewardson’s buzzer beater went in a second before the session expired.
After a scoreless second, Loon-Stewardson added another midway through the third to put his side up by three.
Wenatchee would dash Ryan Fanti’s shutout bid with 49 seconds left to wrap things up.
Fanti finished with 14 stops to pick up the win in net.
The majors conclude the regular season Monday morning at 7 a.m. as they take on Pursuit of Excellence of Kelowna, B.C., with playoff implications on the line.
That contest could very well decide which one will crack the top 10 and advance to the U-18 postseason as ninth place Thunder Bay leads POE by just one point. The Valley Forge Minutemen are also in contention for a playoff berth as they sit tied with the club from B.C.
As for the minor midget contest, Omaha sMARLed out to a 3-0 lead after one period of play to take control.
Owen Belisle got one back for the Kings with a shorthanded effort early in the second, but their opponents tacked on a pair of man advantage markers later in the frame to go up 5-1.
Omaha then added one more in the third to round out the scoring.
Jordan Smith was peppered with 42 shots in a losing cause in net for Thunder Bay.
The minors are still in a solid spot to earn a place in the U-16 playoffs next month back in Michigan.
They are currently in ninth overall with the top 10 teams getting in.
NAPHL regular season play concludes Monday with the U-16 Kings meeting the New Jersey Titans at 11 a.m.
