Kam River takes both games in Sioux Lookout with a 5-3 victory.
SIOUX LOOKOUT – Sports – What a weekend for the Kam River Fighting Walleye! They dominated the Bombers on the score sheet for the second consecutive night, taking home four valuable points from Sioux Lookout. Despite a late surge by the Bombers, the Walleye held firm and secured a 5-3 win, moving up in the SIJHL standings.
The action was fast-paced right from puck drop—again! Just like the previous night, the Walleye were first on the board. At 13:27 in the first period, Jett Mintenko was given space to skate in from the sidewall and made no mistake, sending a slick backhander past the glove of Bombers netminder Matthew Spencer-Dahl. But Sioux Lookout wasted no time in responding. Less than a minute later, Sam Delaquis found a loose puck in the slot and hammered it past Ashton Sadauskas to tie it up at 1-1. The Walleye answered back with lightning speed—just 14 seconds later, Evan Lachimea, in his first game back, buried a goal to put Kam River back in front. By the end of a balanced first period, shots were close, with the Bombers leading 15-13.
Kam River took control in the second period. Amar Powar finished off a beautiful centering pass from Zach Baumann, firing a one-timer past Spencer-Dahl’s blocker to make it 3-1. Later in the period, the Walleye capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play, with Edwin Liang slotting home Kam River’s fourth goal, assisted by Mintenko and Easton Debray. Despite equal shot totals in the second period (11 apiece), the Bombers were starting to show signs of fatigue.
Mintenko wasn’t done yet! He picked up his second of the night at 8:26 of the third period, stretching the Walleye lead to 5-1. But Sioux Lookout wasn’t going down without a fight! Cedrik Robidoux gave the Bombers a glimmer of hope with a powerplay goal at 13:10, and just a minute later, Bombers captain Jonah Smith made it a 5-3 game, with assists from Peter Zilkalns and goaltender Spencer-Dahl.
Despite the Bombers’ push, Kam River’s defense held strong, and Sadauskas made key stops to close out the game. Final shots favored Sioux Lookout 41-35, but it was the Walleye who came out on top where it counted.
Both teams struggled with the man advantage, but Kam River was a little sharper, scoring twice on nine powerplay opportunities. The Bombers managed one goal on ten attempts. As for the stars of the game, Evan Lachimea took third star honors for his goal, while Cedrik Robidoux’s gritty play earned him the second star. The first star of the night? None other than Jett Mintenko, whose two goals and assist powered Kam River to victory.
With this win, the Walleye leapfrog the Bombers in the standings, now sitting in fourth place with 10 points. But it’s still tight at the top of the SIJHL, with only three points separating the first- and fifth-place teams. Next up, the Fighting Walleye head to Thunder Bay to take on the North Stars, while the Bombers return to The Hangar to face off against the Fort Frances Lakers next weekend.
