Fisticuffs rather than flowers were the gifts of choice Wednesday night in a wild pre-Valentine’s match-up between the SIJHL’s current top dog and last year’s best in show.
Chris Shaen’s fifth of the season early in the third was the game-winner as the Borderland Thunder (26-8-5-1) downed the host Dryden Ice Dogs (24-15-2-1) by an 8-5 count last night.
The rugged affair saw the two teams combine for 165 penalty minutes and eight game misconducts, which forced Thunder head coach Dave Allison to move blueliners Matt Alexander and Kurt Hogard up front to fill the gaps on the forward lines.
“It was a good team-building experience,” said Allison, whose team has beaten the Ice Dogs—their playoff conquerors a year ago—for the sixth time in seven games this season (excluding a forfeited 3-0 win by the Thunder up there Oct. 30).
“We’re fortunate we’ve got guys like Alexander and Hogard that we can move up front when we have to,” Allison said. “The guys really responded in a positive fashion.”
While most of the ejections came in the second and third periods, the most disturbing infraction occurred at 16:30 of the first.
Dryden’s Tyler Desjarlais, who has racked up 191 penalty minutes in just 23 games this season and already has earned two suspensions, hurled his stick into the crowd after receiving a double minor for spearing and was immediately tossed from the game.
Matt Johnson and Ryan Sinclair (his fifth of the year) scored power-play goals in the first to put the Thunder up 2-0 before Kyle Schroder responded for Dryden at 14:20.
Josh McAndrew (his 16th) and Alexander netted markers at 1:41 and 6:27 of the second to make it 4-1 before Joel Poshtar and Mike MacIntyre scored in a 15-second span later in the frame to make it a one-goal game again.
Johnson, who leads the Thunder with 56 points this season, collected his second of the game and 18th of the season only 37 seconds after MacIntyre’s goal to regain the momentum for Borderland.
He then set up Shaen at 2:54 of the third to make it 6-3, and Kevin Webb followed with his 18th at 6:26 on Rob Scales’ third assist of the night.
Poshtar and Tyler MacDonald sandwiched goals around Alexander’s second of the game, and ninth of the year, to close the scoring.
Dan Hoehne made 31 saves to take over sole possession of the league lead in wins (13) while his goals against average rose to 2.42—though still tops in the SIJHL.
The Thunder, who lead the second-place Thunder Bay Downtown Volkswagen Bulldogs (24-14-3-2) by four points with three games in hand, continue a stretch of four games in five days with a road battle against the third-place Fort William First Nation Wolves (18-16-5-4) tomorrow night.
The Thunder then will take on the fifth-place Feathermen Hawks (10-29-1-4) there Saturday before returning home to play an exhibition game here Sunday at 4:30 p.m. against the Southeast Blades of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
Tickets for Sunday’s game can be purchased at Skates and Blades on Scott Street, M&M Meat Shops on Second Street, the C.C. Complex at Couchiching, and Village Variety in Emo.
Regular-season passes will not be valid for the game.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
