Staff
Some 24 hours after his team’s seven-game winning streak came to a screeching halt at the hands of the Wisconsin Wilderness, Fort Frances Lakers’ forward Jordan Larson made sure the red-and-white wouldn’t return from a weekend road trip without picking up at least two points.
The first-year sniper from Fort Frances, who currently leads the SIJHL in scoring with 57 points, tallied with about two minutes to go last night to help the Lakers earn a 5-4 win over the host Duluth Clydesdales.
After falling behind 2-1 in the first period, the Lakers’ potent offence kicked into high gear with three goals during the second to take a 4-3 lead.
But Clydesdales’ forward Hunter Scott, a recent SIJHL player-of-the-week recipient, knotted the score early in the final frame with his third goal of the night, which set the stage for Larson’s late-game heroics.
Byron Katapaytuk led the Lakers with two goals and an assist in last night’s win, giving the 20-year-old Moose Factory product 56 points for the season—one behind Larson for the league lead in scoring.
Lakers’ blueliner Steve Terry also netted a pair of goals while goalie Tanner Hamilton turned aside 30 shots to earn his ninth win of the season.
The win was a nice bounce-back for the Lakers after what happened to them Saturday night in Spooner, where they were blanked 2-0 by the Wilderness.
The game remained scoreless until just past the midway point of the third when Jordan Shockley scored a power-play goal to give the hosts the lead.
Shane Topf added an empty-netter a few minutes later to seal his team’s 16th-straight victory
Wisconsin goalie Tanner Milliron earned first-star honours by turning aside all 23 shots he faced while Lakers netminder Tyler Ampe made 39 saves in a losing effort.
With the weekend split, the Lakers (26-9-4) remain in second place in the SIJHL standings with 56 points, which puts them nine back of the league-leading Wilderness, who hold two games in hand.
The Thunder Bay North Stars and Dryden Ice Dogs currently are deadlocked for third place in the seven-team loop with 43 points, with the North Stars holding the tie-breaker due to having a better winning percentage.
The Lakers will continue their six game road trip on Wednesday night in Dryden before they travel back to Duluth for the SIJHL’s annual “showcase” weekend.
The squad will take part in two games there—facing the North Stars on Saturday morning before clashing with the Clydesdales on Sunday night.
