The Dryden GM Ice Dogs and Thunder Bay North Stars both swept their quarterfinal series against the Red Lake Miners and Ironwood Lumberjacks respectively while the Kam River Fighting Walleye knocked out the Sioux Lookout Bombers in five games.
The Fort Frances Lakers earned the regular season championship and a bye directly to the semifinals.
DRYDEN GM ICE DOGS vs. THUNDER BAY NORTH STARS
The Ice Dogs and North Stars will meet three years after a rare feat in any level of playoffs.
The North Stars erased a three games to one deficit in the 2023 semi-final, winning Game Seven in Dryden 3-2 in overtime.
Ice Dogs Captain Elias Eisenbarth says that the team leans on the experience of the entire coaching staff, in particular Assistant Coach Ben Hackl, who played in that series.
“We all know and trust whatever they say and have us do,” Eisenbarth notes. “Top to bottom we believe in the team we have this year. There’s lots of experience, and we’re going to use all of it we can get to help guide us through the playoffs.”
The Ice Dogs franchise has won four Bill Salonen Cup Championships, capturing their last one in 2018.
The North Stars have won six championships with their last one coming in 2019.
Seven members of the North Stars collected at least a point in all four games during the first round (Mitch Vanderwey, Matthew Lysak, Easton Glousher, Cohen Tangedal, Chance Loke, Acoyen Fehr and Matthew Bertolin).
“Being consistent is the biggest thing come playoff time,” noted Glousher, the North Stars Captain. “I’m always trying to contribute as much as I can offensively and defensively and have been getting awarded with a couple points lately.”
Payton Hu and Ryder Marks hit the scoresheet at least once in every quarterfinal game against the Miners.
These teams both won four head-to-head games during the regular season with the North Stars outscoring the Ice Dogs 34-25.
“The Ice Dogs have always been hard to play against. They are a very strong team on both sides of the puck,” Glousher noted. “If we play how we are supposed to, there aren’t many teams that will be able to stop us. That said, we can’t give up at any point of the series.”
“[The North Stars] score goals and they make you pay if you aren’t ready to play or are sloppy out there. It’s going to be a great series. I’m sure everyone on both sides are excited to get it started,” Eisenbarth added.
Since the 2022 playoffs, the Ice Dogs sport a record of 9-8 in the semifinal round while the North Stars are 5-15.
FORT FRANCES LAKERS vs. KAM RIVER FIGHTING WALLEYE
These franchises will meet for the first time in the playoffs.
The Lakers last played a game on Friday March 13th, but Captain Pierce Gouin isn’t worried about his team not being ready for game action.
“We’ve mentally and physically prepared for round 2, and I think everyone is ready to jump into our first game,” said Gouin. “Obviously playoff hockey is different from regular season hockey, but I believe everyone on our team is hungry to win and ready to do whatever it takes for the guys on this team.”
The Lakers had a run of three consecutive seasons where they not only clinched the top spot after the regular season but were also able to win the Bill Salonen Cup (2013-2016). They have not been able to win a round in the playoffs since 2018.
Four Fighting Walleye skaters registered at least a point in all five games during the quarterfinal win against the Bombers (Edwin Liang, Evan Lachimea, Logan Hanna and Kaden Goodwin).
Fighting Walleye Captain Max Wright was happy to see some of his teammates get their first goals in the opening round.
“It definitely brought me back to my first playoff goal. You always remember those types of moments and it’s amazing to be a part of theirs,” Wright added. “With them stepping up and generating offense, it’s very important in these types of games. Everyone is relevant on the team and brings something to the table.”
The Lakers outscored the Fighting Walleye by a slim 22-20 margin and won six games during the regular season series.
Gouin feels Kam River will be a hard team to play against.
“They are strong offensively and defensively and use each other well on the ice,” mentioned Gouin. “We need to be defensively sound and confident that everyone on the ice can do their job. We need to be ready right when the puck drops and capitalize on opportunities. We’ve done it all year and now we just need to bring the same game we’ve played all regular season to the playoffs.”
Wright isn’t overly concerned with not having home ice advantage against the Lakers.
“We have our goal every game no matter where we are or who we are playing,” mentioned Wright. “Obviously it would be nice to be at home to start off the series, but we have the mindset of we will play anyone, anytime, anywhere. We keep taking it one day at a time and are looking forward to this next series.”
The Fighting Walleye have made the finals in four consecutive years, winning it all in 2023 and 2025.
They have also collected sixteen wins out of seventeen total games in the semifinal round.
SEMIFINAL SCHEDULE
Friday April 3rd
North Stars @ Ice Dogs
Fighting Walleye @ Lakers
Saturday April 4th
North Stars @ Ice Dogs
Fighting Walleye @ Lakers
Monday April 6th
Ice Dogs @ North Stars
Tuesday April 7th
Ice Dogs @ North Stars
Lakers @ Fighting Walleye
Wednesday April 8th
Lakers @ Fighting Walleye
BELOW GAMES ARE IF NECESSARY
Friday April 10th
North Stars @ Ice Dogs
Fighting Walleye @ Lakers
Sunday April 12th
Lakers @ Fighting Walleye
Monday April 13th
Ice Dogs @ North Stars
Tuesday April 14th
North Stars @ Ice Dogs
Fighting Walleye @ Lakers
