North Stars drop series opener

If the Soo North Stars needed a wakeup call, they got one on Saturday night.

Opening a Great North Midget League quarterfinal series against the eighth place Sudbury Lockerby Nickel Capitals, the nearly unbeatable North Stars were shocked 3-2 by the Capitals at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

Sudbury leads the best-of-five series 1-0 with game two scheduled for Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Rhodes.

After cruising through the regular season with only one regulation loss and rewriting the record books with a 33-1-1-1 record, the North Stars are heavy favourites to repeat as GNML champions and return to the regional playdowns.

The loss also snapped a 26-game GNML winning streak.

Sudbury grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first period before the teams skated into the second intermission tied at 2-2.

Tyler Gendron scored a goal and added an assist for the North Stars while Nick Minardi added the other marker.

Lucas Faganely paced the Capitals with a goal and an assist while singles were scored by Chad Mallette and Matt Bouchard. Matt Harrington recorded a pair of assists.

The series will shift back to Sudbury for games three and four on Wednesday and Thursday nights. A fifth game, if necessary, is scheduled for Friday night in the Soo.