Staff
Nick Minerva officially is in a groove.
The Fort Frances Lakers’ defenceman had his fourth-straight multi-point game to help his squad to a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Iron Rangers on Saturday night in Hoyt Lakes.
The Lakers (16-2) racked up their ninth-straight win while the fourth-place Iron Rangers (7-10-2) now have lost five of six.
After three-straight games with two assists each, Minerva upped his game even further with a goal and two helpers against the Iron Rangers to give him nine points over his past four outings.
The 19-year-old product of New Brunswick, N.J. has vaulted into a tie with teammate Robbie Bonthron for second in SIJHL scoring by a defenceman, having collected 18 points in just 11 games so far this season.
Bonthron (power play) and Jack Bernie sandwiched goals around one by Minnesota’s Nolan Magsamen to make it 2-1 after the first period.
Dylan Kooner tacked on another man-advantage marker with 1:19 left in the second.
Zack Taylor drew the Rangers closer with a power play marker at 10:46 of the final frame.
But Minerva sank Minnesota’s hopes of getting its first win in five tries against the Lakers this season when he fired in an empty-netter with 45 seconds to go.
Lakers’ goalie Pierce Dushenko also continued on his hot streak of late—making 30 saves to record his ninth-straight win.
Bryce Kamenick had 21 stops in a losing cause.
The Lakers welcomed the return of forward Francois Lemelin, who recorded an assist after having not played since Oct. 6 due to a severe case of the ’flu that hit him worse than the rest of the team.
Lemelin’s return was crucial after forward Cole Tymkin injured his shoulder during last Thursday night’s 7-6 shootout win over the Dryden GM Ice Dogs.
Tymkin, along with fellow forward Dylan Robertson and defenceman Brandon Zajicek (both with post-concussion syndrome), are good candidates to return to action after the Lakers’ current 10-day break.
The squad doesn’t play again until next Tuesday (Nov. 24) in Minnesota.
Their next home game is Nov. 27 against the Ice Dogs (11-4-1-2), whom they now lead by seven points in the battle for first place.
In other SIJHL news, the last-place Thunder Bay North Stars fired head coach Gary Wenzel on Saturday after the squad struggled to a 6-11-0-2 start.
Wenzel replaced Jeremy Adduono, who won the SIJHL coach-of-the-year award last year but then mutually parted ways with Thunder Bay during the off-season.
Interim coach Darrin Nicholas, promoted from his assistant position, ran the North Stars’ bench in Saturday’s 3-2 shootout win at home over the English River Miners (7-9-1-4).
