North Stars advance; Minor Midget showcase wraps up

The Soo North Stars capped off a three-game sweep of the Kirkland Lake Legion 87’s on Sunday evening in Kirkland Lake with a 12-2 win.

Kirkland Lake opened up a 2-0 lead in the first period but the North Stars scored 12 unanswered goals in the win.

Ryan Vendramin scored three goals and set up another for the North Stars in the win. Devin Shell added two goals and two assists for the locals. Cameron White and Jack MacLeod chipped in with a goal and three assists each in the win. Matt Pinder had a pair of goals and an assist. Jaron Rowe and Cody Caron also scored in the win. Jaren Bellini and Nathan Hebert had three assists each for the North Stars.

Jordan Wilson and Zach Joron scored for Kirkland Lake in the loss.

The North Stars will host the Nickel City Sons in the GNML semi-finals for the opening two games of the series. The series kicks off on Saturday at 4 p.m. with game two set for Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Both games will be played at the Essar Centre.

The other GNML semi-final will see the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves take on the Kapuskasing Flyers. The Wolves beat the New Liskeard Cubs in the opening round while Kapuskasing beat North Bay in the first round.

While the North Stars were wrapping up their opening playoff round over the weekend, the Soo Thunder were competing in a minor midget showcase, hosted by the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds. The Thunder faced the Michigan Nationals, Nickel City Sons and North Bay Trappers in the two-day event.

Following is a game-by-game recap of the weekend:

Game One
Michigan 4, Soo Thunder 3: Cullen Beaufait scored a pair of goals for Michigan in the win. Matthew VanDeRoovaart and Mitchell Hawes also scored in the win. Blake Speers and Nick Sicoly had a goal and an assist for the Thunder. Frank Pucci also scored.

Game Two
Nickel City Sons 5, North Bay Trappers 2: Brad Sutton and Aston Roy had a goal and an assist each as Nickel City opened their schedule with the win. Tylar Read assisted on a pair of goals while Scott Villeneuve, Ryan Theriault and Ales Sokoloski also scored for the Sons. Jim Heggi had a goal and an assist for North Bay. Michael Silveri also scored in the loss.

Game Three
Michigan Nationals 5, North Bay 0: Max Quertermus picked up the shutout in the win. Rune Kirby, Patrick Lunt and Matthew VanDeRoovaart had a goal and an assist offensively for the Nationals. Luke Schultz and Cullen Beaufait also scored.

Game Four
Soo Thunder 8, Nickel City Sons 2: Caleb Bowman assisted on four goals for the Thunder in the win. Frank Pucci and Cole Lussier added two goals and an assist each. Alex Morin set up three goals for the Thunder. Matt Caruso scored twice in the win. Blake Speers also had two points with a goal and an assist. Andrew Barbeau scored the other goal for the Thunder. Scott Villeneuve and Aston Roy scored for Nickel City.

Game Five
Michigan Nationals 4, Nickel City 0: Tommy Bailey got the shutout win for the Nationals. Luke Schultz scored a pair of goals and assisted on another in the win. Mitchell Hawes and Cullen Beaufait added a goal and an assist for the Nationals.

Game Six
Soo Thunder 6, North Bay Trappers 1: Matt Caruso assisted on four goals in the win for the Thunder. Jason Uhl scored a pair of goals and assisted on another for the locals. Caleb Boman, Blake Speers and Adam McPhail added a goal and an assist in the win while Nick Sicoly chipped in with two assists. Matthew Keenan also scored for the Thunder. Jeffrey Jordon scored the lone goal for North Bay.

Showcase Standings

1. Michigan Nationals: 3-0
2. Soo Thunder: 2-1
3. Nickel City Sons: 1-2
4. North Bay Trappers: 0-3

Scoring Leaders (G-A-PTS)

1. Blake Speers (Soo): 3-3-6
2. Matt Caruso (Soo): 2-4-6
3. Jason Uhl (Soo): 2-4-6
4. Cullen Beaufait (Mich.): 4-1-5
5. Nick Sicoly (Soo): 3-1-4
6. Mitchell Hawes (Mich.): 2-2-4
7. Caleb Boman (Soo): 0-4-4
8. Luke Shultz (Mich.): 2-1-3
9. Matthew VanDeRoovaart (Mich.): 2-1-3
10. Alex Morin (Soo): 0-3-3