The Northumberland Stars are headed to the Russell Cup championship series for the first time in franchise history after defeating the Durham Roadrunners four games to two in the Greater Toronto Jr. A Metro Hockey League’s South Division final.
Northumberland clinched the best-of-seven series Sunday night with a convincing 7-3 victory in Game 5 at the Iroquois Park Sports Centre in Whitby.
Durham scored the first goal in each of the six games of the division final and led 2-0 by the 15-minute mark Sunday. Stars head coach and general manager Alex McConnell said his team’s perseverance was key after another slow start in the series.
“Slow starts have kind of been the thing for us unfortunately this series, but this group there’s just no quit,” McConnell said. “Always persevere, find a way, keep our foot on the gas and we kept digging deep and once we got rolling there was no looking back.”
Despite falling behind by two on a pair of Durham power-play goals, Northumberland responded quickly. Dario Alimonti got the Stars on the board at 16:37 and just over a minute later Brendan Collins tied the game 2-2.
Durham briefly regained the lead early in the second period, but from there the Stars took control.
Tristan Miron, who led Northumberland in points with a goal and three assists, evened the score 3-3 six minutes into the middle frame. The Stars grabbed their first lead just over two minutes later when Zennon Edwards scored and Collins struck again on the power play at the 15-minute mark. Bowen added another less than two minutes later, giving the Stars a 6-3 lead after two periods.
Bowen then sealed the victory early in the third, scoring his second of the night with Miron picking up his third assist of the game. Bowen had an assist in the win as well.
The victory sends Northumberland to the Russell Cup final, where they will face the winner of the North Division series between the Wasaga River Dragons and the West Nipissing Lynx.
Wasaga currently leads that series 3-2, with Game 6 scheduled in Sturgeon Falls tonight and a potential seventh-and-deciding game tomorrow evening in Wasaga Beach.
For McConnell, who has been at the helm since 2022, the journey to the championship series has been years in the making.
“A lot of guys here put their trust in me, dug deep, stuck around through some tough times and we’re not done yet,” he said.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
