RED LAKE – The Superior International Junior Hockey League championship round is set.
The defending champion Kam River Fighting Walleye punched their ticket to a third straight Bill Salonen Cup final on Thursday night, edging the host Red Lake Miners 4-3 to complete a four-game semifinal sweep.
They’ll take on the second-year Sioux Lookout Bombers, who doubled up the Thunder Bay North Stars 4-2 in Game 5 of their semifinal series, taking the set four games to one.
Jett Mintenko and Ryan Doucette scored first-period goals to give the Fighting Walleye a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
The two teams traded goals in each of the second and third periods.
Evan Lachimea notched the go-ahead goal with 44 seconds to play in the middle stanza and Doucette doubled the Kam River lead at 18:28 of the third. Gabe Danton cut the lead to one for Red Lake with a goal at the 19:16 mark.
Matthew MacPherson and Nathan Dann also scored for Red Lake, who knocked off Dryden in the opening round of the playoffs.
It was the 23rd straight win for Kam River, who have gone a perfect 8-0 in the postseason.
In Sioux Lookout, Nolan Palmer broke a 2-2 with 5:51 to go in regulation and Owen Cotter added an empty netter to seal the series win.
Connor Burke and Tait Howell also scored for the Bombers. E.J. Paddington and Beau Helmeczi scored for the North Stars, who failed to beat the Bombers on the road all season long.
The SIJHL final is expected to start on Wednesday at the Norwest Arena, though league officials have not officially confirmed the start date.
