The Thunder Bay North Stars will be on home ice tonight as they continue their efforts to win this year's Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) championship.
The North Stars and Dryden Ice Dogs are tied 1-1 in the best-of-seven series; the first two games took place in Dryden, while games three and four of the series will be played at the Fort William Gardens.
This is the first time since 2010 the North Stars have competed for the Bill Salonen Cup, the SIJHL's championship trophy, named after the former Dryden mayor and member of the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.
Dryden looking to repeat
The Ice Dogs, meanwhile, are the league's defending champions, and finished first overall in the SIJHL standings this season for the second time in a row.
The games will also give Thunder Bay hockey fans a chance to show their support for the Humboldt Broncos after the Saskatchewan junior hockey team's bus collided with a tractor-trailer at an intersection near Tisdale, Sask., on April 6.
Sixteen people died as a result of the crash, with 13 more injured.
The North Stars-Ice Dogs games will include two large green and yellow cards — green and yellow are the Broncos' team colours — which will be in the lobby of the Gardens for people to sign in support of the Broncos team.
Another option for those looking to show their support for the community of Humboldt and its Broncos is the City of Thunder Bay's condolence books.
The books will be located at City Hall, the Fort William Gardens, and Port Arthur Arena until Wednesday, April 18.
After that, all three books will be forwarded on to Rob Muench, mayor of Humboldt, Sask., along with a letter of sympathy sent on behalf of Thunder Bay.
Game three of the SIJHL final starts tonight at 7:30 p.m., while game four will be played Wednesday at the same time. Then the Ice Dogs and North Stars will be back on the road, playing game five in Dryden on Friday.