And then there were two.

The Kam River Fighting Walleye (4-0) and the Red Lake Miners (4-2) begin the best-of-seven Bill Salonen Cup in Oliver Paipoonge Thursday night with a spot in the National Junior ‘A’ Championship on the line.

The Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) winner will advance to the Centennial Cup in Estevan, Saskatchewan, which features the host Bruins (SJHL), the Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL) as well as the eight other league champions.

The Miners took the season series with five wins in nine contests, something that is in the back of the mind of Walleye goaltender Eric Vanska.

“If you give (the Miners) time and space and let them work in our zone, they are going to make you pay for it, so we got to make sure we get pucks out of our end,” stressed Vanska.

At the other end, Miners netminder Kiev Kineshanko feels the series will be a close one.

“The season series was really close, and back and forth, which makes me think this will be a long series,” Kineshanko told Acadia News. “The way (the Walleye) play is impressive, they are a good team.”

April 20, 2019 (1,097 days ago) was the last time that the Bill Salonen Cup was handed out as the Thunder Bay North Stars defeated the Red Lake Miners 4-1 to capture the series in five games.

The Fighting Walleye lineup has nine regulars that come from Thunder Bay, including forward Jeremy Dunmore, who would love to win the title.

“I watched the (Thunder Bay) North Stars when I was in minor hockey and I looked up to those guys. If I’m able to win a championship this year, that would be awesome. I’m not going to look too far ahead, focus on one game at a time and see what we can do,” cautioned Dunmore.

The Red Lake Miners are making their third appearance in the championship, losing to the North Stars three years ago and dropping the 2017 series to the Dryden GM Ice Dogs.

Graduating forward Jordan Baranesky is the lone Red Lake native on the Miners, adding “It would be a huge honour to be a part of a team that can (win it all) for the community. Especially when you think about all of the volunteers, all the donations and all the sacrifices that are made for the community-run team, it would be awesome.”

Playoff Statistics

Between the Pipes: Kiev Kineshanko (4-2) 2.86 goals-against average, .912 save percentage; Austin Madge (4-0) 0.87 goals-against average, .977 save percentage
Powerplay goals: Jordan Baranesky (2), Mathieu Belanger, Jeremy Dunmore, Carson Gorst, Trenton Morriseau, Kersey Reich
Game-winning goals: Jordan Baranesky (2), Jake Parker, Noah Kramps, Dayton Clarke, Jeremy Dunmore, Trenton Morriseau, Calvin Morrow

The Schedule

Thursday April 21 – Miners @ Fighting Walleye
Friday April 22 – Miners @ Fighting Walleye
Monday April 25 – Fighting Walleye @ Red Lake Miners
Tuesday April 26 – Fighting Walleye @ Red Lake Miners
Thursday April 28 – Miners @ Fighting Walleye
Saturday April 30 – Fighting Walleye @ Miners
Tuesday May 3 – Miners @ Fighting Walleye