Staff
Any momentum that the Fort Frances Lakers may have built up at the start of their SIJHL semi-final series has been quickly washed away, as the they now find themselves tied with the Dryden Ice Dogs heading into Game 5 at the Ice for Kids Arena tonight.
After dropping Game 3 in Dryden on Monday, the Lakers fell to the Ice Dogs in Game 4 by a score of 7-4 on Tuesday night at the Dryden Memorial Arena, which allowed their rivals to even up the series at two games apiece.
In what was a similar situation to what occurred in their previous encounter, the Ice Dogs dominated the Lakers in the opening frame, as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Austin Lewis would score his second goal of the game early in the second period, as his marker resulted in an early shower for Lakers starting netminder Talor Joseph.
With Tanner Hamilton now in between the pipes, the Lakers seemed to have an extra bit of momentum on their side, as Kevin Kurm and Jon Carlson found the back of the net in a two-minute span to cut the lead down to a pair of goals.
However, the Ice Dogs would scored two markers of their own late in the period to regain their four goal lead, which was enough to withstand another comeback bid by the Lakers in the final frame.
Carlson led the way for the Lakers with a goal and an assist, while Kurm and Christianson both had a goal and two assists each.
Tyson Holder was a dominant force for the Ice Dogs on Tuesday, as his two goals and three assists helped his team earn the win.
Both teams will be looking to take over the series lead tonight here, as they will battled it out at the Ice for Kids Arena starting at 7:30 p.m.
Game 6 will be held in Dryden on Monday evening, while a seventh and deciding game, if required, will take place in Fort Frances on Tuesday.
In the other SIJHL semi-final series, the Minnesota Wilderness can clinch their third straight trip to the Bill Salonen Cup finals in Hoyt Lakes tonight, as they will attempt to wrap up a series sweep of the Minnesota Iron Rangers.
Off of the ice, the Lakers received their second season ending award from the SIJHL on Tuesday, as forward Colton Spicer took home the most improved player accolade for the 2012/13 season.
The 18-year-old from Fort Frances, who left the team two weeks ago following an undisclosed incident during a team practice session, had 56 points during his sophomore campaign with the Lakers, which was a 36-point improvement from his rookie season.
Jacob Nolan won the league’s most sportsmanlike player award last week.
