Staff
It wasn’t the 12-round shootout the Edmonton Oilers endured with the Boston Bruins last night, but it was starting to get close.
The Fort Frances Lakers and host Dryden GM Ice Dogs went seven rounds before the Lakers claimed a 5-4 victory.
Wyatt Cota scored on the second Lakers’ shootout chance, but Matt Houston replied with a do-or-die effort in the third round to push it to sudden death.
The next three shooters for each team were turned away before Mason Meyer capitalized on his chance against Ice Dogs’ goalie Tate Sproxton.
That left it up to Lakers’ goalie Nathan Park, who thwarted Blake Peavey’s last-gasp attempt to close out the victory and eliminate the Ice Dogs (24-20-3) from being able to catch Fort Frances (35-9-0-1) for first place.
The Lakers now need only one more point, or have the third-place Minnesota Iron Rangers (23-17-6) lose once in regulation or extra time, to clinch top spot and home-ice advantage throughout the SIJHL playoffs.
The first period last night was a power-play party, with Troy Williams’ man-advantage marker countered by ones from Dylan Robertson and Nick Minerva.
Williams netted his second power-play goal 54 seconds into the second, then Dryden regained the lead on Eric Masters’ marker.
Miles Nolan tied the game about a minute later before Cota put the visitors ahead.
Ryan Scott’s equalizer was the lone goal of the third.
The Lakers are in Ear Falls tomorrow to take on the last-place English River Miners (10-32-4).
Then they’ll return home to face the second-place Thunder Bay North Stars (25-21-4) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Ice For Kids Arena.
