Billet and family weekend started with a bang as a penalty-filled game made its way to overtime with the Lakers pulling off the victory against the Kam River Walleye on Friday, January 23, 2026, followed by another the next night. The Lakers hit the road tonight for three in a row away from Ice For Kids Arena.
Pierce Gouin got the scoring started inside the five-minute mark for the Lakers on a feed from Jace Van Eps and Daniel Tokariwski.
After that the parade to the penalty box started.
Carter Deschamps took a hooking penalty at 7:24 which the Lakers were able to kill off. It was around the 12 minute mark that things got really heated. After a scrum around the net following a save, three players a side got into it with the Lakers’ Dax Laplante and Walleye’s Nico Simeoni going the hardest at it, with fists flying in enough of a scrap to get tossed from the game. Fighting in the SIJHL is a game misconduct and both combatants are typically shown the gate. Simeoni was also assessed a four minute infraction for grabbing the neck protector.
In total 28 minutes in penalties were handed out over the course of the first period.
Gouin would come away with a second goal to put the Lakers up 2-0 headed to break with the help of Tie Schumacher and Judd Pesch.
The Walleye would draw closer around the 14 minute mark of the second, with a goal by DeAntwan Kupsch Hamilton.
Throughout the second period the Lakers bench were visibly displeased with officials allegedly refusing to call penalties against the Walleye. When Gunnar Simon was called for slashing in the last five seconds of the period the Lakers bench was incensed, with head coach and GM Luke Judson earning a bench minor and an ejection from the game for his complaints to officials.
“There was a little bit of inconsistency with some of the calls Friday night we thought,” Judson said Monday.
“But at the end of the day, that’s some of the adversity that we’re going to need to figure out how to go through. It’s probably inevitable that there’s going to be games where we don’t like what the refs are doing and that includes me and the coaches as well, we need to figure out how to deal with that.”
The parade to the box would go on in the third period.
Seconds after the Lakers had managed to kill off the five on three as a result of the conclusion of the second period, the Walleye managed to tie the game at two. During that stoppage in play Nolan Koethler was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for expressing his feelings to a ref regarding the Walleye’s conduct around the net.
Over 20 minutes in penalties were called again over the course of the third period with the Walleye taking the lead on a powerplay goal near the 16 minute mark.
The Lakers were able to tie it back up in about a minute with Carter Thiessen potting the tying goal at 16:49.
It was the Walleye who ended up having the worst luck when it came to penalties. Kaden Goodwin was called for tripping with less than 30 seconds left in the game, and teammate Sam Sargent was given a 10-minute Misconduct for complaining about it. While the Lakers pressed to finish the game in regulation the 27 seconds remaining in the frame weren’t enough.
It didn’t take long however, with the Lakers up a man, four on three in the extra frame, a scramble ensued in front of the Walleye net which saw Ronnie Bender on the scoring end to wrap up the game just 36 seconds into OT.
The second game of the weekend only saw 14 total penalty minutes across the whole game.
The Lakers won 2-1 with Jace Van Eps scoring in the second, and Bender potting his second game winner in a row early in the third.
The weekend sweep secured the Lakers their first winning season record since the 2015-16 season and strengthened their hold on second place in the SIJHL standings for the time being, leading the Walleye by eight points.
The Lakers head play tonight in Thunder Bay against the North Stars in a midweek matchup before a weekend road trip to the US for a pair against the Ironwood Lumberjacks.
Judson says he’d like to see the team playing better on the road.
“I think it’s no secret that we’ve been very successful at home and as much as we have won some games on the road it’s definitely been a stark contrast in the success that we’ve had,” he said.
“So we need to figure out how to play good road hockey. We talk about it lots, it’s a simple game, it’s a physical game and being ready to go under circumstances that are different from playing at home. Different meals, different hotels and travelling and all that stuff. We need to figure out how to bring the right game every night. In the playoffs it’s going to be important that we play the right way more than at home.”
The Lakers don’t play at home again until Family Day weekend when they’ll play a two game series against the Sioux Lookout Bombers. The weekend will feature a 4:45 p.m. puck drop on Sunday, Feb. 15, and a Family Day game on Monday, Feb. 16 with puckdrop scheduled for 12:45 p.m.
