Joey Payeur
The “Lake Show” continues to be a smash hit.
Three power-play goals in the second period broke open a 1-1 tie and sent the Fort Frances Lakers to their sixth-straight victory—a 6-1 triumph over the visiting Wisconsin Wilderness on Saturday night.
The Lakers (7-1-0-1) sit atop the SIJHL standing by three points over the second-place Dryden Ice Dogs (6-4), with a game in hand.
“Everyone’s buying into our defensive system,” said Lakers’ forward Miles Nolan, who was credited with two goals in Saturday’s game although the second one appeared to be put in by linemate Torrin Grange.
“We know we have to think defence first,” he stressed.
Wisconsin (1-5), who dropped into the basement with the loss, arrived with only 14 skaters due to injuries.
A 15th skater was assigned back-up goalie duties to starter Luke Thompson.
The Lakers weren’t sending sympathy cards, though, as they outshot their short-handed visitors 43-15, including 14-2 in the third period.
The game was tight through the first 25 minutes, with Tanner Fricke notching his second of the season for the lone goal of the opening period before Zach Kraft tied it for the Wilderness 30 seconds into the second.
But a double minor to Wisconsin’s Danny Toylen for high-sticking Bryce Lipinski proved costly to the Wilderness.
Nolan wired a shot home at 6:22 on the first minor. Then only 26 seconds later, Fricke’s point shot was deflected in by Lakers’ newcomer Brent Aiken for a 3-1 lead.
For the Kenora native, picked up in a trade with the Winkler Flyers of the MJHL on Oct. 3, it was his first goal of the season in his Fort Frances debut.
“[Donovan] Cousineau cycled the puck down low and there was a bunch-up of guys in front, so I just decided to go to the net,” noted Aiken.
Hunter Leishman notched his fourth of the season (and for the fourth-straight game) on the Lakers’ next man-advantage at 12:40 to make it 4-1.
Nolan, with his fourth of the campaign and Grange, with his third, capped the scoring in the third.
Cousineau was tops in the point department with a three-assist outing.
Ryan Ferguson had a relatively easy night with 13 saves while Thompson turned aside 37 in a valiant losing effort.
“I talked to them this afternoon [Saturday] and said everybody was going to get a chance on the power play,” noted Lakers’ head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan, whose squad was in an 0-for-12 slump with the man-advantage before busting out against Wisconsin.
“We just wanted to keep it simple and move the puck,” he said.
“Tonight [Saturday], you saw it with the rebound goals and tip-in goals we got.”
On Friday night, meanwhile, the Lakers received a much stiffer test the second time around from a revamped English River Miners’ team that was trounced 12-2 here back on Sept. 21.
The Miners featured five different players in the game than they had in the first outing, but the Lakers still came away with a 3-2 triumph.
Leishman, Billy Grillo (fourth), and Mason Meyer (seventh) scored for Fort Frances while Royce King and Paul Lamoureaux replied for English River (1-6-0-1).
Jordan Cartney won his first game back between the pipes for the Lakers since being injured Sept. 25 against Dryden.
P.D. Melgoza took the loss.
With Cartney back, that leaves only defencemen Cody Wickstrom (illness) and Kyle Lipinski (lower body) sidelined for the Lakers.
Lipinski played Friday night against the Miners, earning an assist on Grillo’s second-period marker, but was held out of the lineup Saturday as a precaution.
In related news, Strachan announced forward Dylan Curtis decided to leave the team for good Friday after playing against English River.
The 18-year-old Emo product had no points in three games this season.
The Lakers next head to Spooner, Wis. for the back half of the home-and-home series against the Wilderness this Friday.
Their next “home” game is set for Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the new Couchiching First Nation Arena, where they’ll host the Minnesota Iron Rangers.
