Staff
While their fans still are coming down from the dramatic high of Tuesday night’s overtime win in Game 7 of the semi-finals, the Fort Frances Lakers now know what lies ahead of them in their quest to capture their first Bill Salonen Cup in franchise history.
Though it originally was speculated to start tomorrow night in Cloquet, the Lakers and Minnesota Wilderness won’t kick off the best-of-seven SIJHL final until next Friday (April 12) at the Northwoods Credit Union Arena.
After that, the teams will alternate hosting duties on a game-by-game basis, with Game 2 taking place at the Ice For Kids Arena here Sunday, April 14.
Game 3 will be held in Spooner on Wednesday, April 17 while Game 4 will go back here on Friday, April 19.
The Wilderness will host Game 5, if necessary, on
Saturday, April 20, with the Lakers hosting a Game 6 (if needed) on Monday, April 22.
A seventh and deciding game, if required, will be held in Spooner on Wednesday, April 24.
All seven games will get underway at 7:30 p.m.
The Lakers earned their second-straight appearance in the SIJHL final Tuesday after rallying for a 3-2 overtime win here over the Dryden Ice Dogs in the seventh-and-deciding game of their semi-final showdown.
Jon Carlson single-handedly erased a two-goal deficit in the final four minutes of regulation time, including the game-tying marker with 15 seconds to go.
Jordan Christianson then scored the game-winner midway through the first overtime.
The Wilderness, winners of the last two league titles, punched their ticket to the final last Thursday with a four-game sweep of the Minnesota Iron Rangers.
The winner of this year’s Bill Salonen Cup then will represent the SIJHL at the Dudley Hewitt Cup, which will be held April 30-May 4 in North Bay.
