Staff
There will be more games for both teams after this series.
But the SIJHL final will be far from meaningless for the Fort Frances Lakers and Dryden GM Ice Dogs.
The best-of-seven showdown for the Bill Salonen Cup gets underway tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Ice For Kids Arena, with the host Lakers looking to defend their title from last season.
But it will be a tune-up for both squads for the Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Central Canadian Junior ‘A’ championship, which will be held here April 28-May 2.
The Lakers were assured a berth as the host team, but they stayed motivated all season to finish atop the standings with a 43-11-1-1 record.
Meanwhile, Dryden, who finished third during the regular season at 30-25-1, will be the SIJHL rep at the Dudley Hewitt Cup by virtue of making the league final.
Fort Frances won the season series 9-4-0-1 but lost the last two meetings between the squads.
In related news, the English River Miners said today that head coach and general manager Kevin Kahoot has been relieved of his duties.
Kahoot was at the helm for the Miners’ first two years of existence, leading them to the semi-finals last season before falling to the Lakers.
This season was a difficult one, though, with English River finishing in last place at 10-41-5—a whopping 33 points behind fourth-place Thunder Bay.
The Miners then were swept by the North Stars in the best-of-five first-round series.
