Staff
The Fort Frances Lakers ended a hex they’ve had with the Dryden Ice Dogs of late with a 4-2 victory here Friday night.
But the squad fell just short in its quest of a weekend sweep when former Laker Dane Morin netted the game-winning with 21 seconds left in overtime to give the visiting Sioux Lookout Flyers a 3-2 triumph the following night.
“After our game on Monday [a 4-3 shootout loss to Dryden], I was looking for a much stronger effort here this weekend and the guys did exactly that,” lauded Lakers’ head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan.
“We were a little bit flat at the very end tonight [Saturday], which is a little bit alarming,” he admitted.
“But to play as well as we did for 115 of 120 [minutes] this weekend is a big positive as we go forward towards the playoffs.”
Ryan Wildman and Jon Carlson scored in Saturday’s loss to the Flyers, with Byron Katapaytuk extending his SIJHL scoring lead over teammate Jordan Larson to 10 points thanks to a pair of assists.
Katapaytuk, in his third year with the team, has 72 points in 44 games.
On Friday night, Wildman scored a goal and assisted on two others to help down the Ice Dogs, with blueliner Steve Terry netting a pair in the first period.
Jordan Christianson rounded out the scoring for the Lakers, who next hit the road Wednesday to take on Dryden for the third time in the last 10 days.
The squad then returns to the Ice For Kids Arena this weekend, welcoming the expansion Iron Range Ironheads on Friday before entertaining the first-place Wisconsin Wilderness the following night.
Both games get underway at 7:30 p.m.
