By Tanner Schafer
Spooner, WI – The Kam River Fighting Walleye scored 6 unanswered goals en route to a 6-3 victory on the road over the Wisconsin Lumberjacks on Friday night.
Early on things were all Wisconsin as the SIJHL’s leading scorer Ryder McMillen found the back of the net less than 4 minutes into the game. Ryan Kayser got the puck onto McMillen’s stick earning an assist and Dylan Jouppi picked one up as well. Later in the period Simon Davidson would beat Jack Orchard over the shoulder from a tough angle to extend the Lumberjack lead to 2. Line mate Zach Johnson picked up the lone assist on the goal. Almost 2 minutes later Ryan Kayser would force a turnover in the lumberjacks defensive zone, he hit Dillion Phillips with a beautiful pass sending him in on a breakaway. Phillips went to the forehand and found space through the 5 hole to make it a 3-0 game. In just another 30 seconds Kam River defencemen Jack Cook would get his team on the board. In a goal similar to Davidson’s he beat Kyler Lowden from a tough angle to make it 3-1.
The clear turning point in the game happened halfway through the 2nd period. Josh Morton of Kam River received a 5 minute major and a game for facemask violation. The Fighting Walleye successfully and comfortably killed off the full 5 minutes and scored a power play goal just over 20 seconds later on the opening face off of a power play. It was Jack Cook finding his way onto the scoresheet once again, this one assisted by Jeremy Dunmore and Ryan Doucette.
Jeremy Dunmore scored just over a minute into the 3rd period turning the contest into a brand new hockey game. He was assisted by Ryan Doucette who capitalized on one of several costly turnovers the Lumberjacks made in their own zone throughout the game. A few minutes later Mackenzie Sedgwick beat Lowden on a goal assisted by Ethan Lang to give Kam River their first lead of the night. With 7 minutes left the Lumberjacks went on the penalty kill and in an effort to create some quick offense, had McMillen play the whole kill floating at the Fighting Walleye blue line while his teammates played a 3 versus 5 in the zone. Noah Kramps made Wisconsin pay, scoring a powerplay goal in the 5 on 3. He was assisted by Ryan Doucette. Braeden Duschene would add an insurance marker and Kam River would win in a comeback effort 6-3.
Ryan Doucette earned 1st star honors with a playmaker. Jack Orchard rebounded from a rough start to the game stopping 48 of 51 and getting 2nd star. Simon Davidson’s first goal in a Lumberjack sweater was good enough for 3rd star.
Wisconsin and Kam River will face each other again on Saturday night at the Spooner Civic Center.