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Jr. Trappers take series lead in NOJHL Championship

Trappers goalie Greg Dodds goes to stop the T-Birds' Adam Ritchie in close. Trevor Hunt grabbed the hat trick to lead the North Bay Jr. “A” Trappers to a 5-2 win over the Soo Thunderbirds in Game 3 of their NOJHL Championship series on Tuesday night.


Trappers goalie Greg Dodds goes to stop the T-Birds' Adam Ritchie in close.

Trevor Hunt grabbed the hat trick to lead the North Bay Jr. “A” Trappers to a 5-2 win over the Soo Thunderbirds in Game 3 of their NOJHL Championship series on Tuesday night.

Cole Klippenstein and Samuel Blanchet got the other two goals.

The Trappers now lead the series two games to one. Trappers head coach Tom McCarthy says winning this one is huge.

“I think the most important thing about tonight was how we came out of last game,” he said, ”How are we going to respond to a great effort that we played in their barn last game to win one in overtime and how we were going to come back. It’s obvious that we see that we can skate with them, play with them and compete with them so I think their confidence level may have boosted a little bit tonight so it’s a huge win.”

Joel Horodziejczyk got the nod for the Soo after sitting in Game 2. He made 26 saves in the loss, while Greg Dodds stopped 38 of the 40 shots he faced to get the victory.

“He’s very calm back there and very much in control and obviously his confidence shines from the goal line out,” McCarthy said of Dodds, ”I think we certainly rely on our goaltender like every team does but at the same time, we try to negate as many chances as possible so that doesn’t happen but yes, he did stand on his head again and you gotta have that this time of year, it’s one of the biggest ingredients to win.”

The Traps went three for seven on the man advantage, including two five-on-three opportunities in the first period.

Carter Horwitz set the puck up on a tee and wired it from the point at 5:45, off the stick of Hunt in front of the goal and by Horodziejczyk on the first two man advantage.

The next one was for the full two minutes, as Jeremy Solomon and Grant Syrette were both sent off at the same time. On this advantage, Hunt did it again, but it was a Klippenstein slap shot that he tipped this time and the Traps were up 2-0.

In the second, Klippenstein scored the Trappers’ third consecutive power play goal, a wrist shot from the point that beat Horodziejczyk high blocker side for the eventual game winner.

“All year, all season, we’ve been struggling to keep the lead it’s a big step for us to get the lead and keep the lead and I think that’s progress for sure,” Hunt said, “Looking forward to building on that.”

Adam Ritchie got the Soo on the board with under a minute left in the second, a one timer in the slot while in a crowd of players to make it 3-1.

Anthony Miller would bring it to within one at 1:24, but would get no closer, as the Trappers kept them at bay to finish off the game, something McCarthy attributes to his team’s conditioning.

“We’re not practicing a lot,” McCarthy said, “But when were on the ice, were sharp and were quick and we try to get things done precisely and try to be perfect in that 15-20 minutes that we practice when we practice in between games but yes, it’s about the approach and the fore checking and moving our feet and I think there’s no question our conditioning has helped us. We do a lot of skating and that conditioning helps us late in the game in situations and evident in the playoffs so far.”

Under a minute after the T-Birds scored, Blanchet kept the puck inside the zone and went to the front of the goal as the Traps continued pressure, retaliating after the goal. Blanchet got a couple chances but eventually grabbed the puck on a rebound and put it home to regain the two-goal cushion.

Hunt wrapped up the three-goal performance with an empty net goal, one that came off a back hand in his own zone, off the boards in more of just a clearing attempt, but it went in before the defense man could catch up to it to round the scoring.

“Why he scores a hat trick tonight,” said McCarthy, “I don’t think anybody in their hockey mentality would ever try to bounce it off the boards on the back hand to put it in the net, 170 feet away but the work ethic, the attitude, the fight, the battle from below the puck to win it, you sometimes get rewarded for your hard work in special ways and that was a special way and you don’t expect to get rewarded but you get rewarded from it and a tribute to the effort and the approach he took to the game and I think that state he plays at, I think is a little contagious and it swarms across that bench.”

Scoring a hat trick in the playoffs is something Hunt says means a lot, but knows it’s not an individual game.

“Without the team we got here, it wouldn’t be possible,” he said, “A couple lucky bounces, hard work pays off and I didn’t expect to get the third one but sometimes you get lucky.”

The Trappers travel to the Soo for Game 4 of this series on Thursday night. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at the Essar Centre and then Game 5 will be played back in North Bay on Sunday, April 21. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. at Memorial Gardens.

Game Notes
-The attendance was 764.
-Justin Schneeberger and Grant Syrette engaged in an early second period fight, right off a face off. Both men got their shots in and were sent to the dressing room.
-Beau Orser registered two assists for the Traps.

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Mark Pare

About the Author: Mark Pare

Originally from Timmins, ON, Mark is a longtime journalist and broadcaster, who has worked in several Ontario markets.
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