Walleye head to SIJHL finals

The Kam River Fighting Walleye are heading back to the SIJHL finals, following a 4-1 victory over the Wisconsin Lumberjacks Saturday night, securing their spot for a chance at the Bill Salonen Cup.

Scoring for the Walleye came from a pair of goals from Kobe Braham and Captain Anthony Oviedo, who picked up his first two of the playoffs.

Oviedo says he feels great picking up his first two in the win to clinch a spot in the finals, knowing its a shot at redemption from 2022.

“Its huge I think a lot us have a grudge from last year, you know losing to Red Lake in game six, so I think we’re gonna have a good push this year and I’m excited to see what happens.”

Head coach Geoff Walker, considers Saturday’s performance the best he’s seen all year, especially coming off of a double overtime loss Thursday, which shutdown the Walleye’s ability to sweep the series.

“Its details right, for us we’ve been harping on that kind of stuff all year long, pucks out, pucks in, puck management, F3. I thought that was on full display.”

Additionally Walker has a unique perspective when it comes to going to the 2023 finals, as last year he was the Head Coach of the Red Lake Miners, his game plan, be ready.

“I think its just getting some of our guys healthy, having a rest and being ready to hit the ground running.”

Who will the Walleye face in the finals is yet to be decided, with Dryden now up three games to one following a 5-4 win over the Thunder Bay North Stars Saturday.

The first period for that game could be described as courteous and uneventful as neither team picked up any penalties, nor did they score.

But second period was an action movie, with Dryden putting three in the net within in the first five minutes of the period.

The North Stars attempted to rally with two of their own, but the Ice Dogs were able to double tap them with a pair of goals that wrapped up the 2nd.

A noble effort was made, including a final goal from Thunder Bay with 35 seconds left in the period, but Dryden managed to keep them from going to overtime.

Thunder Bay will hit the road, hoping to stay alive, Monday at the Dryden Memorial Arena.