By Gary Moskalyk
Thunder Bay, ON – Adam Zimmerman’s point shot through traffic with 4:32 left in the third was the game winner as Dryden defeated Thunder Bay 3-2 to clinch 4th place and home ice advantage over Red Lake in the first round of the playoffs. Christian Lynch stopped 43 of 45 to pick up his 8th win. Lynch is a perfect 8-0-0 since his late season acquisition, posting a GAA of 1.94 and SV% of.936.
Keenan Marks dropped to 18-9-2 thwarting 35 of 38. Both goalies put on a show, making key saves and following up with improbable ones on rebound chances.
Thunder Bay led 2-0 after a period. EJ Paddington got his 31st, deflecting a Drew Caddo point shot at 4:58. Tyler Jordan followed up with his 28th, on a masterful centering feed from Cameron Dial at 8:46. Shots favoured Thunder Bay 16-6.
The Ice Dogs rallied with a 21-shot barrage in the second frame. Max Roby capped off a wild sequence by burying his 28th on an in-the-crease backhander after Marks made several stops and seemed on the verge of getting out of the jam.
Down 2-1 entering the third, Thunder Bay outshot the ‘Dogs 22-11, but Dryden scored the only two goals of the period for the win.
Tanner Skrypnyk picked up his first SIJHL goal, accepting a long stretch pass from Adam Zimmerman from blue-line to blue-line. In the clear, he slid one through Marks’ legs to tie the contest at 6:43. Zimmerman’s point shot went top shelf for his 5th at 15:28.
The Stars pulled their goalie with 2:07 left but couldn’t beat Lynch for the equalizer.
Both teams were held scoreless on the powerplay. Dryden was 0-3 while Thunder Bay was 0-4. The Stars took 26 of 34 penalty minutes called.
Attendance was 611.