Oliver Paipoonge, ON – The Kam River Fighting Walleye earned a spot in the SIJHL Bill Salonen Cup Championship Series, for the 2nd year in a row, with a 4-1 win over the Wisconsin Lumberjacks on Saturday night.
The win gave the Walleye a 4-1 series victory and put the club one spot closer to a birth in the Centennial Cup National Junior A Championship Tournament, taking place in Portage, Manitoba in mid-May.
Anthony Oviedo scored both the first and last goals of the game for Kam River, his first period short-handed marker breaking the ice for the Fish, and his 3rd period goal providing insurance for the home team to cruise to victory.
Kobe Braham also scored two for the Walleye, one in the opening period and one in the second, both top corner snipes that Lumberjacks goaltender Kyler Lowden had little chance on.
Lowden’s counterpart, Eric Vanska, finished off a fantastic series in the Walleye net by stopping 21 of 22 shots in earning his 4th win of the playoffs. Vanska put up a 1.86 GAA and a 0.934 save percentage in the series.
SIJHL Defenceman of the Year, Jack Cook, was a standout for Kam River, leading the series in scoring with 8 goals and 4 assists over the 5 games.
The Fighting Walleye now await the conclusion of the Dryden – Thunder Bay semi-final series. Dryden currently leads by a 3 games to 1 margin.
G and G Excavating 3 Stars
3rd – Caden Sutter – WIS
2nd – Kobe Braham – KRW
1st – Anthony Oviedo – KRW