The first road win of the series came at the perfect moment as the Fort Frances Lakers toppled the Kam River Fighting Walleye 5-2 Sunday night in Oliver Paipoonge to advance to the Bill Salonen Cup Finals, where they’ll take on the Thunder Bay North Stars starting Friday night at Ice For Kids Arena.
Nick Fagnilli opened the scoring just five minutes into the first period on a feed from Zak Green and the Lakers never trailed.
Fagnilli and Green would connect on a second goal with four minutes remaining in the period, for a powerplay goal.
Judd Pesch wrapped up the first period scoring with the help of Tie Schumacher and Jace Van Eps to send the Lakers to the dressing room up 3-0.
Brady Cates once again held down the fort for the Lakers during the second period, only giving up one goal on a 12-5 shot advantage for the Walleye.
Ronnie Bender restored the Lakers three-goal advantage four minutes into the third period on a feed from Max Caddo.
The Walleye continued to dominate the shots and Brady Cates defended six of the seven shots thrown his way in the third.
The Lakers put the series to bed when Tie Schumacher scored on Kam River’s empty net from inside the Lakers own blue line, with just under a minute to go.
Reached Monday, Lakers Head Coach Luke Judson says he was happy to see the performance after the previous road games in the series, where the Lakers lost 4-1 and 6-1.
“I think when we fell the way we did in games three and four there, it’s definitely the result we wanted,” he said.
“We wanted to prove, not only that we could win in Kam River on the road, but the road is a place that we haven’t been as strong as we’ve been at home. It was a nice confidence boost to know that if we prepare the right way, we’ll be a tough test for anyone.
The finals will start Friday night, April 17, at 7:45 p.m. at Ice For Kids Arena with game two going at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are available in advance at Northwoods Gallery and Gifts. For a series preview, see Wednesday’s edition of the Fort Frances Times.
