Staff
The Minnesota Iron Rangers saved all their offence until the end last night.
They should have started a little sooner.
The Rangers scored all their goals in the third period but still fell 5-4 to the Fort Frances Lakers at the Ice For Kids Arena.
Power-play goals by Nick Minerva, Bryson Jasper, and A.J. Kapcheck—all before the 10-minute mark of the first period—had Fort Frances (38-10-0-1) in firm control early on over the second-place Iron Rangers (26-18-6).
After a scoreless second period, Minnesota struck early in the third on goals by Jason Reynolds and Drew Millis to cut the lead to one.
But Dylan Robertson brought calm to the stormy situation by scoring just over a minute after Millis to make it 4-2.
Jasper added his second goal later in the period.
That turned out to be big as Minnesota made one last push with a man-advantage marker by Noah Anderson and then an even-strength one from Seth Chumley.
But the Lakers bolted the door after that to avoid losing back-to-back games for only the third time this season following a 6-3 road loss against the Dryden GM Ice Dogs on Wednesday.
Pierce Dushenko made 27 saves for the victory, which was the Lakers’ 21st in their last 24 outings.
The Iron Rangers, meanwhile, had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Lakers’ forward Matt Vela returned to the lineup last night after missing the last five games with an upper-body injury.
The two Fort natives on the roster, forwards Nolan Ross and Donovan Cousineau, remain out indefinitely.
The Lakers next fill face the injury-riddled Thunder Bay North Stars (25-22-4), who have lost six of their last eight, tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Ice For Kids Arena.
The two squads clashed here last Saturday, with the Lakers rolling to an 8-1 victory.
