THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Kings got a pair of goals from both Michael Stubbs and Nicholas Degrazia to help them defeat the Fort Frances Canadians 8-2 Wednesday evening at the all-Ontario AAA bantam championship at the Fort William Gardens.
The Kings opened the scoring 4:40 into the contest as Owen Perala snapped one past Fort Frances starter Isaac Fagnilli from the right side with Matthew Sedgwick picking up an assist.
Thunder Bay then added to their lead at 11:22 as Alex Atwill worked the puck free off a dump in by Konner Kuuskivi and shovelled it over to Degrazia, who backhanded in his attempt from the top of the crease.
Stubbs picked up the Kings’ third tally of the night early in the second as he flew down the right wing then drove around the net before stuffing his chance into the open side on the wraparound.
Showing off his skill once more later in the frame Stubbs added another as he corralled a loose puck at his own blueline then skated deep into Fort Frances territory and fired a shot that eluded the Canadians netminder.
Atwill made it 5-0 with 1:59 left in the second as he went top shelf during a man advantage opportunity.
Dylan Winsor put Fort Frances on the board three minutes into the third only to see Nikolas Campbell get that back for the Kings at 4:44.
A power play helped the home side pick up one more on a Jack Pineau effort midway through the session.
The Canadians added one more while up a man late in the third as Winsor rushed into the Kings zone and saw the puck slide through the legs of Stephan Bourgeois at 10:16.
Degrazia then rounded out the scoring in the late with his second of the contest.
The Kings outshot the Canadians 30-21 with Bourgeois picking up the victory.
Fagnili and Mason Vogrig both saw time in net for Fort Frances.
Thunder Bay concludes round robin play Thursday at 6 p.m. against the York-Simcoe Express.
The top four will teams will advance to semifinal play Friday morning with the Kings currently tied for fourth spot with a 1-2-2 record.
Thunder Bay Kings all-Ontario AAA bantam championship schedule/results
All games at the Fort William Gardens
Monday, March 27
Kings 1 Ottawa Jr. 67’s (HEO) 1
North Bay Trappers (NOHA) 4 Kings 0
Tuesday, March 28
Kings 2 Cambridge Hawks (Alliance) 2
Wednesday, March 29
Toronto Marlboros (GTHL) 8 Kings 0
Kings 8 Fort Frances Canadians (HNO) 2
Thursday, March 30
York-Simcoe Express (OMHA) vs. Kings 6 p.m.
Friday, March 31
Semifinal 1: 4th round robin vs. 1st round robin 9 a.m.
Semifinal 2: 3rd round robin vs. 2nd round robin 11:30 a.m.
Bronze Medal Game: 5:30 p.m.
Gold/Silver Medal Game: 8 p.m.
