Lucas Punkari
With the Wisconsin Wilderness having locked up the top seed for the SIJHL post-season, the rest of the five-team loop still is jostling for the other playoff spots.
And the Fort Frances Lakers, currently in second place with 69 points, are in the thick of things.
The Lakers round out their home schedule tonight when they clash with the Dryden Ice Dogs at 7:30 p.m. the Ice For Kids Arena.
The squad then closes out its regular-season schedule on Thursday night against the host Sioux Lookout Flyers.
While the Lakers are five points up on both the Thunder Bay North Stars and Ice Dogs going into tonight’s game, the North Stars have two games in hand on the Lakers while Dryden has one.
“It definitely makes Tuesday’s game even more important,” Lakers’ coach and general manager Wayne Strachan stressed.
“This will be the game that will probably tell the tale as to if we stay in second place or not,” he noted.
“And if that can’t fire the guys up, I don’t know what can,” Strachan added.
The Lakers also will be looking to rebound after dropping two out of three games last week, including a 4-3 setback in Dryden on Wednesday before falling 4-2 to the Wilderness here Saturday.
In between those losses, the Lakers did earn a key 3-2 win over the North Stars here Thursday, giving them the edge them in the season series.
“These are two big games for us to go and win,” Lakers’ forward Byron Katapaytuk said.
“If we can win these games, we’ll be able to get second place in the standings and then it’ll be time for playoff hockey,” he remarked.
“Nothing else matters after that.”
