Joey Payeur
Three games, three nights, three losses?
There was nothing charming about that concept to the Fort Frances Lakers.
Coming off a pair of bitter losses to the league-leading Wisconsin Wilderness the previous two night, the Lakers hit early and often to subdue the host Duluth Clydesdales 4-2 in SIJHL action yesterday.
Fort Frances (29-15-3) wasted no time putting a lasso around the Clydesdales (10-34-2) as Ryan Wildman bulged the twine for his eighth goal of the season only 23 seconds into the game.
Blake Boaz doubled the lead at 5:49 with his ninth of the campaign before Matthew Caulfield tacked on his seventh at 9:04 in what was an opening stanza dominated by the visitors, who outshot Duluth 16-8 in the period.
Mark Williams finally helped the Clydesdales break through at 1:04 of the second on what was the game’s only power play as Morgan McNeill sat in the penalty box for tripping.
But Tyler Stevenson restored the Lakers’ three-goal cushion at 12:47, collecting his league-high 32nd goal of the season.
Wildman added an assist for his second point of the night.
Matt Jerulle brought Duluth within two with his tally at 18:42, but the Clydesdales could do nothing more against the Lakers’ defence and goalie Jameson Shortreed, who turned aside 28 shots for the victory.
Cody Stocker made 33 saves in a losing cause for the cellar-dwelling Clydesdales, who dropped their fifth game in a row.
In a two-game clash between the SIJHL’s top two squads, it was host Wisconsin (32-6-4) which proved to be the better club both Friday and Saturday night to extend their lead over the second-place Lakers to seven points.
In Saturday’s 5-3 triumph by the Wilderness, Phil Jennrich set up Byron Katapaytuk’s 19th of the season just 56 seconds into the contest and then scored his sixth during a man-advantage to give the Lakers a quick 2-0 lead.
But it was basically all Wilderness after that as Wisconsin scored the next four goals, including two power-play markers by Bryce Anderson late in the first and SIJHL scoring leader Keith Tessin (56 points) in the second to tie the affair.
Austin Anderson gave the Wilderness their first lead of the night at 17:09 of the second before Matthew Mulqueen ballooned the advantage by rippling the mesh 1:16 into the third.
Boaz replied at 10:09 of the final frame, but Austin Anderson had an empty-netter for his second goal of the game with 31 seconds to play.
Jake Hebda made 29 stops for the Wilderness while Shortreed kicked out 20 shots in taking the loss.
The Lakers opened the weekend with a 6-2 loss against Wisconsin on Friday night, with a shaky third period being their ultimate undoing.
James Kline and Stevenson (power play) traded markers in the first.
The Wilderness jumped in front to stay at 4:23 of the second when Wilson Housley converted on a penalty shot after the Lakers’ Connor Hady was nabbed for tripping during a breakaway.
Austin Adduono then made it 3-1 before the end of the period.
Jace Baldwin’s 18th goal of the season, also with the man advantage, gave Fort Frances life at 10:16 of the third. But that momentum lasted all of 34 seconds before Zach Blaisdell connected for Wisconsin to make it 4-2.
Nathan Paulsen and Adduono (shorthanded) then scored 34 seconds apart in the game’s final five minutes to put the two points on ice for the Wilderness.
The home squad outshot the Lakers 17-6 in the final 20 minutes and 38-25 overall.
John McLean made 23 saves to backstop Wisconsin to victory Tyler Ampe had 32 stops.
The Lakers remain seven points clear of third-place Thunder Bay, although the North Stars hold three games in hand on Fort Frances.
The squad will look to exact revenge on Wisconsin when the Wilderness visit the Ice For Kids Arena this Thursday (Feb. 3) at 7:30 p.m.
