Joey Payeur
Finish up strong.
That’s exactly what the Fort Frances Lakers did Saturday night—scoring twice in the third period and then hanging on for a 3-2 victory over the host Dryden GM Ice Dogs.
The win pushed the Lakers (12-5-1) past Thunder Bay (12-5) for top spot in the SIJHL after the North Stars had used its current four-game winning streak to bump Fort Frances out of first place.
The Lakers also moved up two spots to No. 11 in the CJHL’s weekly top 20 rankings.
Now, about that start. . . .
“We played an OK first period,” said Lakers’ head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan.
“We outshot them and carried the play, but we did not compete hard enough or have the hunger to grasp a hold of any momentum,” he stressed.
Chris Baumen had the only goal of the opening 20 minutes when his shot eluded Lakers’ goalie Devin Tappenden at 18:05.
In the second period, it was the Lakers getting the only goal as Lucas DeBenedet notched his first goal in his second game back with the Lakers during a power play at 13:08.
DeBenedet then turned into a play-maker in the third, combining with Mason Meyer to set up Bryson Jasper for his 10th of the year at 7:31 to make it 2-1.
“Lucas has played well since his return,” lauded Strachan.
“He has the ability to make plays and . . . to avoid hits,” Strachan noted. “On his goal, he took charge of the power play.
“And [then] on his assist, he made a nice decision to beat their defenceman and then a great play to find Jasper in front.
“I think if they play with a high compete level, they play well with one another and click well together,” Strachan added.
Colton Spicer made it 3-1 at 10:37 with his 10th goal of the season—tying Jasper and Meyer for the team lead in that department.
Wyatt Cota and Nick Minerva assisted on the tally, with Minerva’s point being his first as a Laker in his debut with the team since being acquired last week from the Abitibi Eskimos (NOJHL).
“We liked what he did,” Strachan said, referring to Minerva.
“He skates well, he plays with poise, and makes hard good passes.
“He will be a big part of our defence if he continues to build off the game versus Dryden,” added Strachan.
Eric Masters gave the home fans hope with his marker at 15:04 to cut the lead to one.
But the Ice Dogs’ power-play woes (0-for-5 in the game) cost them down the stretch, as they failed to connect on two separate man-advantage situations in the final five minutes.
Tappenden finished with 27 saves while Tate Sproxton blocked 30 shots for the Ice Dogs (8-7-2).
The Lakers are back on the ice tonight against the Minnesota Iron Rangers (7-6-2), with the game now slated for the Couchiching Arena at 7:30 p.m.
In related news, Dryden blueliner Troy Williams was named the Amyotte’s Awards & Promotions Corp. rookie-of-the-month for October.
Sam Schultz of the Lakers was considered for the award.
The SIJHL also handed out the Amyotte’s Awards & Promotions Corp. player-of-the-week award to Thunder Bay defenceman Joe Newhouse.
Tappenden was among those up for the award.
