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Thunder Bay Bearcats Jr. A Hockey Club

April 5

ITS TIME

The final series that everyone was hoping to see has finally been set, with the second place Thunder Bay Bearcats set to tangle with the first place Fort William North Stars in the first all Thunder Bay finals in league history.

The North Stars punched their ticket on an overtime goal by Keith Mason last night at the Fort William Gardens against the Schreiber Diesels. The Bearcats have been awaiting the winner of that series since Tuesday, when the Cats knocked out the third place Fort Frances JR. Sabres four games to one.

The heated battle between the two rivals lasted all season, with 14 fighting majors being thrown out in the last game of the season between the clubs.

Watch the website tomorrow for an in depth look at the series..... 

March 18

BEARCATS PREPARE FOR SABRES

The Thunder Bay Bearcats finally have their first round playoff opponent: the Fort Frances Jr. Sabres.

With a 7-1 win over the lowly Sioux Lookout Flyers last night, the Sabres punched their ticket to play the Bearcats in the second round of playoffs for the SIJHL. The Thunder Bay Bearcats had a first round bye.

The season series between the two teams went to the Bearcats, who went 6-4 in that span, but the evenly matched teams played only one game that was decided by more than 2 goals, a 6-1 drubbing of the Sabres by the Bearcats in Thunder Bay on October 23rd.

The Sabres feature two former Cats on their roster in Colton Kennedy and Colin Moberly. Kennedy left the team in the off-season, and was signed by the Sabres after a stint in the MJHL. Moberly, an Ely, Minnesota native, was a late addition onto the Cats roster, was released after 7 games. In those games Moberly registered 0 points and 6 penalty minutes.

Game one is set to start at 7:30 pm on Saturday and game 2 will be held Sunday night with the same puck drop. Both games will be played at the Fort William First Nations Arena. Fans are encouraged to come out and cheer on your Bearcats!!! 

March 14

PAWLOWSKI BEST AGAIN

For the second straight year, the Thunder Bay Bearcats have the best defenceman in the league, and for the second straight year, that is Mr. Brad Pawlowski.

On Friday the SIJHL announced their annual award winners, and once again Brad heard his name called as the top d-man in the league.

This season, in 43 games with the Bearcats, Pawlowski had 18 goals and 42 assists, good for 60 points and the top scorer for defencemen in the league. He also was tops with powerplay goals and powerplay assists.

Last season with the Bearcats, Brad once again was awarded the captaincy, and once again won the award as the leagues top rearguard.

Prior to his time with the Bearcats, Pawlowski was an integral part of the Schreiber Diesels league championship team that made it all the way to the finals of the Dudley Hewitt Cup in 2006, and before that Brad played part of two seasons with the Oshawa Generals in the Ontario Hockey League.

On behalf of the entire Bearcats organization we would like to wish Brad a congratulations on his achievement thus far this season. 

March 8

BEARCATS PREPARE FOR LAST REGULAR SEASON GAME OF SEASON

The Thunder Bay Bearcats may be close, but not quite finished yet. Their last regular season game goes on Monday night in a make-up game against the last place Sioux Lookout Flyers.

The Bearcats are coming off a 2 game weekend which saw the Cats beat the Fort William North Stars and Dryden Ice Dogs.

The first round playoff matches are all set as well, with the Fort Frances JR. Sabres taking on the Sioux Lookout Flyers in the 3-6 matchup, and the Schreiber Diesels battling the Dryden Ice Dogs with the 4-5 matchup. The Fort William North Stars and Thunder Bay Bearcats finished 1-2 respectively and will get first round byes. The North Stars will play the winner of the Ice Dogs and Diesels series, while the Cats will play the winner between Fort Frances and Sioux Lookout.

On Tuesday we will recap the season that was and take an in-depth look at our potential playoff matches. 

March 5

BEARCATS ROUTE NORTH STARS IN FIGHT FILLED AFFAIR

In the last meeting between the crosstown rivals, the Thunder Bay Bearcats used the strength of their specialty teams and solid defensive play to route the Fort William North Stars 6-3 in front of a packed house at Fort William First Nations Arena.

Jeff Manryk would put the home team on the board as he would tally from in close early in the first. Manryk's linemate, Tyler Miller would than pot his 21st goal of the year from a top shelf wrist shot to put the home side up a deuce after one period of play.

The second period was when the game turned ugly. After Miller would pot another one to have the home side go up by 3, North Stars pest Mike Salter jumped Miller off the face-off. This lead to a nine minute Bearcat penalty, and a string of undisciplined North Star play which lead to the banishment of coach Todd Howarth from the game.

The period would end with Domenic Figliomini and Andrew Groom potting powerplay markers, as well a flurry of other fights headlined by heavyweight Brad Pawloski squaring up with Keith Mason. Brian White also cleaned up in his first fight of the year, and capped that off with a five assist performance to gain the games first star.

Brooks Mejia would score a gorgeous short handed breakaway effort to end the Bearcats scoring parade. The North Stars would add a trio of of goals late in the game but would manage to get no closer to the ferocious Bearcats.

On the night the shots favoured the Bearcats 33-21, and the Cats went 4-19 on the powerplay. This was the final meeting of the year between the two clubs, with the season series going to the Bearcats, 5-4-1.

CLAWMARKS: After his comments in the paper about Brad Pawlowski, North Star coach Todd Howarth was relatively quiet throughout the game. The Bearcats were without the services of Ryan Stokes(suspension), Kyle Tront(injury), Jeremy Beller(injury), and Cole Sheehan.  

March 1

THIBERT AWARDED SCHOLARSHIP

The Thunder Bay Bearcats are pleased to report that 20 year old defenceman Mike Thibert has been awared the RBC Scholarship for the entire SIJHL.

Thibert, a Thunder Bay native, currently sits with 2 goals and 17 assists, good for tenth in the league among blueliners.

Last season, Thibert laced up for the now defunct Thunder Bay Bulldogs, where he recieved very careful consideration for defenceman of the year, before narrowly being beat out by fellow Bearcat Brad Pawlowski.

Thibert will be a vital part of the Thunder Bay Bearcats playoff push, and is counted on very heavily for his work ethic and stay at home attitude. 

February 28

SHORT STAFFED BEARCATS CLINCH SECOND PLACE

Even with six regulars out of the line up, the Thunder Bay Bearcats shook off a three game losing streak to hand the hottest team in the league, the Schreiber Diesels, their first loss in seven games.

Forwards Kyle Tront, Jeremy Beller and Brian White, as well captain Brad Pawloski and Ryan Stokes were out of the line up due to either injury or suspension. As well, the Bearcats played with only one goalie, as Josh Mrakic was serving the first game of his suspension for his altercation with North Stars tender Partick Sullivan.

The line of Jeff Manryk, Tyler Miller and Mitch Marostica combined for eight points, while stalwart defenceman Graeme McCormack picked up the winner with his point shot on the powerplay nearing the end of the second stanza. Domenic Figliomini would round out the scoring in the third period on a blistering wrist shot that fooled goalie Josh Baker.

With the win, and combined with a Fort Frances Jr. Sabres 6-3 loss at the hands of the Fort William North Stars, the Bearcats secure second place in the standings, and a first round playoff bye.

The same two teams play each other tonight. Fans are encouraged to come out and cheer on your Thunder Bay Bearcats. Puck drop is at 7:30p.m. 

February 7

MILLER HIGHLY PRAISED BY LOCAL CHRONICLE JOURNAL

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/stories_local_sports.php?id=163288 

 January 28

BEARCATS ENJOY RARE MIDSEASON BREAK

A ten day layoff was well deserved for a Bearcats club which has gone 13-1-1 in their last 15 games comes to an end this weekend when your Cats take on the Dryden Ice Dogs.

34 games into the season, the Cats sit alone in second place, with 49 points. They are 10 points back of the league leading North Stars, and a comfortable five points up on the Fort Frances Jr Sabres, who have played two more games.

The cats are led offensively by the line of Jeff Manryk, Brian White and Tyler Miller. Manryk has 20 goals and 39 points. White has 12 points since being acquired from the Neepawa Natives, and Miller has been an offensive catalyst racking up 33 points in 12 games since being acquired in a blockbuster deal from the Port Hope Predators. His 2.75 ppg average is easily the best in the league, and he has scored points in every single game he has played in a Cats uniform.

Newcomer Kyle Tront is expected to step in and put up numbers, as well be a stellar force in the playoff run.

Defensively the Cats are led by Brad Pawlowski, who also is leading the scorer on the team with 43 points in 32 games.

The Bearcats are yielding possibly their strongest team since the team inception in 2006, and fan are encouraged to come out and cheer on your home town boys! Game times this weekend is slated for 7:30p.m. both Friday and Saturday at the Fort William First Nation Arena. 

January 19

JUDSON TURNING HEADS

When the Thunder Bay Bearcats signed 16 year old Luke Judson last year, they knew they were acquiring a skilled and talented young player. Just how talented was still yet to be determined.

Just one year removed from the Bearcats program, Judson has been rated 133 among North American skaters for the upcoming NHL entry draft.

Currently this year, Judson has 13 points in 39 games for the Belleville Bulls, to go along with 39 penalty minutes.  

January 18

HOME GROWN HOCKEY

With the acquisition of Kyle Tront earlier this week, the Thunder Bay Bearcats display some remarkable stats regarding players.

Of the 22 players on the current Bearcats roster, 20 of them hail from the Northwestern Ontario area. Even more remarkable is that of those 20 players, 15 of them hail from Thunder Bay alone.

Thunder Bay has always been known as a hockey town, and with the success so far this year of the Cats, I think it is no surprise just how talented some of the players that come out of this town really are.

Of the 15 players that hail from Thunder Bay on the Bearcats roster, 12 of them are graduates of the Thunder Bay Kings AAA hockey program.

Chemistry is the key to any team, in any sport, and the Cats are truley showing their colours this year both on and off the ice. Unselfish play combined with hard nosed work ethic have been the difference lately, as the Cats have gone 11-1-1 in their past 13 hockey games.

This is the right time of the year to be playing passionate hockey, and the Cats have apparently taken to that tidbit, and transformed from a 7 game winless streak in November which saw the team drop from first place to fourth, to a surging Bearcats club which is only four points back of first place, and for the third straight week, recognized as one of the top 20 teams in the country.

Fans of the Cats are encouraged to come out and cheer on your team, as this truly is your team Thunder Bay. These boys play for you, come out and cheer for them, help lift them to their first championship, and enjoy some great SIJHL hockey. 

January 16

SHORT-STAFFED CATS PULL THROUGH WIN

A very sick and depleted Thunder Bay Bearcats used both talent and heart tonight to dispose of the third place Fort Frances JR. Sabres 4-2 at First Nations Arena.

Brad Pawlowski would lead the pack offensively with one goal and three assists, with Tyler Miller hammering home three helpers as well. Jeff Manryk potted two of the Bearcats tallys while also adding an assist.

Defenceman Graeme McCormack would also pot a goal and an assist for the club, who saw their record improve to 21-7-5, just 6 points back of the Fort William North Stars, and a healthy five points in front of the third place JR. Sabres.

Regulars Jeremy Beller, Jeff Stokes, Cole Sheehan, Zac Sentance, as well newcomer Kyle Tront were not in the lineup for various reasons.

The shots on the night favoured the Cat's 41-17, with Drew Strandberg earning the win between the pipes.

Game time for Saturday is slated for 7:30p.m. which will feature a rematch of tonight's exciting game. 

January 9

PAWLOSKI LEADS CATS PAST FLYERS

The Thunder Bay Bearcats continued their winning trend in 2009 by beating the upstart Sioux Lookout Flyers 5-4 on Friday night. 

Brad Pawloski was stellar, notching two goals and assisting on three others for a five point outing. New comer Brian White also had a strong game, tallying one goal and three assists for four points. 

Jeremy Beller and Jeff Manryk had the other tallys in an ugly affair which saw very sloppy hockey from both sides. Tyler Miller racked up three assists. 

The same two teams meet tonight at the First Nations Arena, which will be the eighth meeting of the year between the two clubs.

In other SIJHL news, Bearcats forward Tyler Miller was named the SPORTOP player of the month for December. Since being acquired from the Port Hope Predators, Miller has tallied 22 points on 11 goals and 11 assists in only 9 games. Miller was twice named player of the month in his three year career in the OPJHL, which makes this the third nod for the craft center.

January 7

BEARCATS OPEN 2009 VICTORIOUS

The Thunder Bay Bearcats opened the 2009 campaign the same way the ended the 2008 one, with a victory.

The Bearcats got down early as  Schreiber would strike for two goals before the first period was halfway done. The Diesels controlled the play in the first period, exposing clear Bearcat rust in front of their home crowd.

Tyler Miller would put the visiting Bearcats on the board just over seven minutes into the second period with assists going to Mitch Marostica and Darren Cizmar.

Schreiber forward Phillipe Gauvin would restore the two goal lead with under two minutes left, before Miller would pull the visitors within one once again with his second of the contest with one minute to play in the stanza.

It was all Bearcats in the third as Chris Kitt would strike for two quick goals, before Jeff Manryk ended the scoring on a powerplay marker with one minute remaining in the game.

Drew Strandberg was stellar in net, stopping 35 shots on the night to pick up the victory. Brian White and Marostica both ended the night with two assists each. Jeff Manryk had one goal and an assist.

With the win, the Bearcats stay strong in their second place post in the league. The league leading Fort William North Stars were defeated by the fifth place Dryden Ice Dogs, but remain eight points ahead of the Bearcats in the standings.

Next on tap for the Bearcats would be a pair of key games against the upstart Sioux Lookout Flyers. The games go this Friday and Saturday at the First Nations Arena. Game times are slated for 7:30p.m. both nights.

CLAWMARKS: Since being acquired, Tyler Miller has racked up 19 points in 8 games, Brian White has picked up 4 points in 3 games, and Jeremy Beller has notched 3 points in 3 games. It is unknown if the Bearcats are planning on making any moves prior to the January 10th trading deadline. The Bearcats would like to thank Brian Macivor law office for their sponsorship for this season. If anyone is interested in sponsoring the team, please email blittlef@lakeheadu.ca. 

December 20

CATS PEPPER DIESELS

A two goal performance by Tyler Miller and stellar goaltending was the difference as the Thunder Bay Bearcats avenged Friday's loss by a score of 7-2.

Brad Pawlowski would score the only goal in the first period, off a beautiful effort by Jeremy Beller. Beller went hard to the net and the hard working Pawlowski took full advantage of the rebound to net his eighth goal of the season.

The Bearcats specialty teams took over in the second frame as Brooks Mejia, Miller, Jeff Manryk and Mitch Marostica would score with the man advantage to put the home team up by five. Chris Kitt would also pot a beautiful goal off of a nifty pass by Mejia.

Before the period was out, the Diesels would finally get on the board as former Bearcat Tim Harris jammed one in close.

The teams would trade goals in the third, highlighted by a gorgeous individual effort by Miller to notch his 9th of the campaign.

Josh Mrakic would finish the night stopping 28 of a possible 30 Diesels shots, while the Bearcats tossed a total of 55 shots on both Josh Baker and Michael Trichilo.

With the win, the Bearcats enter the Christmas break with a record of 17-7-5 and sit alone in second place, while the Diesels boast a 17-10-2 record, good enough for fourth place.

The Bearcats next home games are January 9th and 10th versus the last place Sioux Lookout Flyers.

CLAWMARKS: The Bearcats are still waiting the return of forward Colin Moberly. Moberly is still nursing an injured shoulder which was sustained against the Fort Frances JR. Sabres. New acquisitions Tyler Miller, Jeremy Beller and Brian White have been stellar so far in Bearcat uniforms. Miller has 17 points in his first 7 games as a Bearcat, Beller has a goal and two assist in his first two contests and White has two assists in as many games.  

December 19

Diesels edge Bearcats

The Schreiber Diesels used precise shooting and a trio of powerplay goals to down the home Thunder Bay Bearcats 5-4 in a shootout Friday night at the Fort William First Nations Arena.

The Diesels got on the board first, late in the opening frame off of a costly Bearcat turnover.

Before the ice was a minute old in the middle stanza, the Bearcats would answer with Jeremy Beller knotting his first as a Cat. The goal was made with nice passing with linemates Jeff Manryk and Tyler Miller.

The Diesels would make the score 3-1 with a couple of quick powerplay goals; however, back to back goals by Jeff Manryk and Brooks Mejia would even the score at three after two periods. Newly acquired Brian White would knotch his first Bearcat point on the second goal, with a nifty assist to Manryk.

The third would see the Diesels and Bearcats swap goals, and numerous missed Bearcat chances. Most notably would be Tyler Miller who deked out both the Diesel defender and goaltender, before barely missing the open cage and sliding the puck through the crease.

After overtime solved nothing, Diesel netminder stopped both Tyler Miller and Jeff Manryk in the shootout, with the Diesels scoring on their first and third shootout for the victory.

Shots on goal favoured the Bearcats 67-43, with both goaltenders playing incredibly stellar all night.

December  18

Cats acquire White

The Thunder Bay Bearcats continued their acquisition of top end forwards when they picked up Brian White from the Neepawa Natives in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

White, the captain of the Natives is a 6'0 180 lb shifty center who will add much needed puck sense to the Cats.

In 35 games this year for Neepawa, the Fort Frances, ONT. native had 25 points. White spent the two seasons prior to this playing for the Winnipeg South Blues and also the Port Hope Predators of the OPJHL. He becomes the third former member of the Predators on the Cats active roster, with Brooks Mejia and Tyler Miller both spending at least one full season their.

CLAWMARKS: Bearcats forward Colin Moberly has been skating and is expected to be in the line up soon. For the first time all season, the Bearcats are nursing no other suspensions or injuries heading into this weekends play. It it unknown whether Brian White will be in town for the games this weekend, but other new recruit Jeremy Beller will see his first action as a Cat this weekend.  

December 11

Big Win for Cats

A combined 11 points from Cole Sheehan and Tyler Miller proved to be huge as the Thunder Bay Bearcats skated to a 7-0 win over the last place Sioux Lookout Flyers tonight at The First Nations Arena.

The game started off with a bang, as Cole Sheehan finished off a beautiful feed from Tyler Miller and Darren Cizmar only 12 seconds into the contest. It was than Miller who took a nice feed from Cizmar to make the score 2-0 only two minutes into the contest.

Sheehan and Brad Pawloski would tally to end the first period up 4-0. The second started off strong, with a beautiful shot by Brad Pawloski off of a faceoff win by Miller put the home team up by five. Young defenceman Andrew Groom would tally the games sixth goal off of a nice individual wraparound attempt.

Sheehan would complete the hat trick in the third period off of a flutter shot from the point that would fool Sioux tender Garret Barr.

Shots on the night favoured the 'Cats 59-11, with 10 of the Flyers shots coming in the third period alone.

With the win the Bearcats improve their record to 14-7-3, while the Flyers drop to 0-24-1.

CLAWMARKS: Forwards Jeremy Beller, Jeff Manryk, Chris Kitt and Colin Moberly were not in the line up. Beller will be flying in tomorrow and will be in the lineup this weekend against the Flyers. Manryk is still nursing a concussion, and will also be in the lineup on Saturday. Kitt just finished the second game of his two game suspension he received against the Fort William North Stars. Moberly's faith is a little less known. He is still nursing an injured shoulder he suffered at home against the Fort Frances JR. Sabres.  

December 7

Miller leads Cats past Stars

In just his second game as a member of the Thunder Bay Bearcats, Tyler Miller did not dissapoint. Tyler scored a natural hat trick late in the third period to post a come from behind 5-3 win against the rival Fort William North Stars.

Trevor Gamache would post two early goals quickly in the first period, with former Bearcat Carlton Ylinen assisting on both. The second goal would signal the end of the night for goaltender Drew Strandberg, who currently sits third in GAA for the league.

Cole Sheehan continued his dominant play against the Stars with a beautiful powerplay tally early in the second stage. Domenic Figliomeni and Ryan Sambray would than use a nifty passing play to knot the score at 2-2, with Sambray tallying one in the top corner.

The score would remain tied until midway through the final period as Ylinen used a screened Josh Mrakic to put the home team up by one.

It was than time for Miller, who with under four minutes left in the game wrapped the puck around the net and beat North Stars tender Patrick Sullivan with his first SIJHL goal. Hard work by the Bearcats led to a costly Stars penalty with under two minutes to play in regulation, and after generating numerous shots and chances, it was Miller using a hard slapshot into the top corner to put the visiting team ahead by one with just 20 seconds remaining in the game.

Miller would finish the natural hat trick off the ensuing face-off, cradling the puck in his feet and kicking it up to himself and than into the empty North Star net.

The season series with the two rivals now stands at 3-3.

The Bearcats are home this weekend with a pair of games against the Sioux Lookout Flyers. Puck drop on both Friday and Saturday is slated for 7:30pm at the First Nations Arena.

CLAWMARKS: Forward Jeremy Beller will be joining the team this week according the the coaching staff. The power forward is finishing up prior commitments and will be a big boost for the club. Bearcats leading scorer Chris Kitt served the first game of his two game suspension last night. Kitt recieved the suspension for uttering "harmful" comments at referee Nigel Dawes. Jeff Manryk was also out of the lineup last night with a concussion. Mnaryk suffered the concussion off of a dirty hit by a North Stars defenceman in Friday's loss. Forward Colin Moberly is still nursing an injured shoulder that he suffered against Fort Frances. He is skating and is expecting to be in the lineup before Christmas.  

December 6

Stars edge Cats

In a hard fought game tonight at Fort William Gardens, the Fort William North Stars edged the Thunder Bay Bearcats by a score of 2-1.

Jeff Manryk would score his ninth goal of the season on a beautiful passing play with linemates Chris Kitt and newly acquired Tyler Miller.

The score would remain that way until under a minute left in the second period when Ryan Magill would break through on a beautiful shorthanded solo effort to knot the score at 1-1 after two periods.

Tempers flared at the end of the second, when a high stick to Jeff Manryk's head left the winger on the ice. North Stars coach Todd Howarth began clapping and his team did as well. Between periods it was happening again, as words were exchanged between coaches in the hallway. This was the first meeting this season between the two clubs with dressing rooms on the same side of the rink.

The third saw back and forth hockey, with both teams generating chances. Jordan Davis broke through for the Stars banking a shot off of goalie Drew Strandbergs leg and into the net.

With the win the Cats drop to 12-7-3, and the Stars improved to 16-1-3. The same two teams meet tonight at the Gardens, puck drop is at 7:30pm.

CLAWMARKS: In his much anticipated debut, Tyler Miller picked up an assist and was a stellar fixture on the first line all night. The team is still waiting on top player Jeremy Beller to be in town. He is expected to fly in from the Maritimes by mid next week.  

December 1

CATS Acquire Beller

The Thunder Bay Bearcats made a major move when they acquired the Hockey Canada playing rights to center Jeremy Beller. The 6'2, 210lb Beller is a native of Rainy River, Ontario and boasts an impressive resume. 

Jeremy formerly played for Rainy River High School, where he was a constant fixture on the NHL Draft ratings. The burly centerman was rated as high as 124 for North American skaters at the halfway point of the season, but dropped to 174 at the final CSB rankings. Beller went undrafted that year.

He followed up a successful high school career with a stellar year in the BCHL, lacing up for the Penticton Vees. Following his success in Penticton, he was moved to the Kindersely Klippers of the SJHL. In 41 games for the Klippers, Beller had 11 goals and 17 assists, leading the team to the West finals.

The entire Bearcat organization would like to welcome Jeremy and we hope that all fans can show him the respect and support that they are currently showing the team.

CLAWMARKS: The Cats released forwards David Dawd and Ryan Helbling and defenceman Tim Iazallino. Forward Colin Moberly is still nursing an injured shoulder which happened in the Bearcats 3-1 loss to the Fort Frances JR. Sabres. It is unknown if the Bearcats are going to be making any more deals before the rost cutdown at midnight tonight.  

November 28

Bearcats Even Series

Cole Sheehan scored the winner on the powerplay with just over a minute to play in overtime as the Thunder Bay Bearcats edged the Fort William North Stars 5-4.

It was Sheehans second goal of the night, capping off a three point effort by the burly centerman. "Going to the net hard and creating chances, that's what I try to do. That's the game plan" said an exhausted Sheehan following the win.

After Sheehan found the net first for the 'Cats, it was Chris Kitt deflecting a point shot from Brad Pawloski. The fiesty Kitt was at it all night, generating chances and scoring opportunities, while continuing his pesty play.

After the North Stars tied the game early in the second, it was Darren Cizmar finding the back of the net with some hard work from linemate Brooks Mejia. Mejia was at it again a few minutes later, this time feeding Brad Pawloski who made no mistake roofing it for his third goal of the year.

The North Stars would tie it on the powerplay with five minutes left, but an untimely Stars penalty led to Sheehans beauty in overtime. With the win, the Cats improve to 12-6-3 on the year, while the 'Stars fall to 15-1-3. The season series stands at two games a piece for these rivals, with the next games going December 5th and 6th at the Fort William Gardens.

Drew Strandberg had an excellent game, stopping 28 of 32 quality North Star shots.

CLAWMARKS: The Bearcats have acquired the Hockey Canada playing rights of forward Jeremy Beller. Last season the burly forward had 28 points for the Kindersely Klippers of the SJHL. Prior to that he was a solid second line player for the Penticton Vees of the BCHL, ammasing 14 points in 40 games. Beller was formerly listed 174th for North American skaters in the final 2005-2006 NHL Draft Rankings. He did not end up being drafted. It is still unclear how much longer Colin Moberly will be out of the lineup, he is still nursing his injured shoulder which he sustained in a game against the Fort Frances JR Sabres. The Bearcats would like to thank Fitzpatrick and Partners for their generous donation to the team this year. If anyone is interested in sponsoring the team, please email blittlef@lakeheadu.ca.