Staff
It was short and sweet for the Fort Frances Lakers here Saturday night.
The two-time defending SIJHL champs notched three short-handed goals, including two during the same penalty kill, as they romped to an 8-2 win over the Thunder Bay North Stars 8-2.
The Lakers (14-2) now have won seven-straight.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen us get three short-handed goals in one game, maybe two,” noted head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan.
“The penalty kill has been a good part of our game lately, although we gave up two tonight with a couple of breakdowns where we were following the puck and getting out of position,” he added.
The Lakers had killed off 22-straight short-handed situations before Kenny Turner’s quick release after a pass in front beat Pierce Dushenko to knot the score at 1-1 in the first.
Carter Chorney had opened the scoring two minutes earlier.
But the next time the Lakers went down a man, it was the home team ending up having all the fun against the North Stars (6-10-0-2).
Brandon Zajicek ripped the puck past Riley Corbin on a 2-on-1 with Andrew Willner for his first Junior ‘A’ goal to make it 2-1.
Just 39 seconds later, with the Lakers still short-handed, Isaiah Olschewske stripped a defender of the puck at centre and sped by two other North Stars.
He then slid a backhander past Corbin.
Former Laker Aaron Wesley-Chisel later burned his old team with a power-play one-timer that beat Dushenko late in the period to pull his team within one.
But with the Lakers again short-handed midway through the second, Dylan Kooner finished off a 3-on-2 by stuffing home a rebound of Chorney’s initial shot to make it 4-2.
Jack Bernie stretched the lead with only 11 seconds left in the period.
The Lakers then sealed the victory with third-period goals by Christian Ripley, Willner, and Ryan Gazich (his first Tier II Junior ‘A’ goal).
Dushenko made 22 stops to earn his league-high 11th win of the season.
Corbin had 30 saves in taking the loss.
Getting eight goals from eight different players was even more impressive with the Lakers’ top sniper, Dylan Robertson (12 goals), sidelined after getting an elbow to the head in Thursday’s 5-2 road win against the English River Miners.
Robertson skated in practice Friday, but was feeling possible post-concussion symptoms Saturday.
He remains listed as day-to-day.
Lakers’ defenceman George Roblin also missed Saturday’s game—one of several victims of a ’flu bug that recently swept through the dressing room.
In related news, Strachan confirmed Fort native Colton Spicer was shipped to the Virden Oil Capitals (MJHL) for a player development fee.
Spicer, in his fifth year with the Lakers, had one goal and two assists in his first four games this season before being felled by an ankle injury that has kept him out of action since.
The 20-year-old has battled injuries much of the past three years.
The Lakers next will host the Dryden GM Ice Dogs (11-4-1) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
