Staff
It was one of the easier choices of the Junior ‘A’ hockey awards season.
Fort Frances Lakers’ blueliner Nick Minerva not surprisingly was selected as the SIJHL-Gongshow Gear best defenceman award winner earlier today.
The 20-year-old from New Brunswick, N.J. wound up with 73 points in 52 games to lead all defencemen not only in the SIJHL but in the entire CJHL.
Minerva’s totals also ranked him second overall in league scoring behind teammate Dylan Robertson (88).
He got the nod over Troy Williams (Dryden GM Ice Dogs) and former Laker Aaron Wesley-Chisel (Thunder Bay North Stars).
Minerva was the SIJHL-Gongshow Gear performer-of-the-month for both November and December, and is the first defenceman from a Fort Frances-based team to win the honour since Kurt Hogard did so for the former Borderland Thunder back in 2003-04.
But the news wasn’t as good for another Lakers’ nominee as Pierce Dushenko lost out to Riley Corbin (North Stars) for the league’s top goalie award.
Corbin, who also is up for league MVP honours, went 23-14-0-2 to finish second to Dushenko in wins (28-4-0-2).
He also posted a 3.13 GAA (fourth) and a .918 save percentage (third).
Dushenko was second to teammate Brandon Bodnar in GAA (2.68) and save percentage (.920).
Taylor Unruh (Ice Dogs) was the other nominee in the category.
The Lakers, meanwhile, will resume preparations today for their best-of-seven semi-final series, which tentatively is scheduled to get underway Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Ice For Kids Arena.
Just who the two-time defending SIJHL champs will face remains up in the air.
The Minnesota Iron Rangers grabbed a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five first-round series against the English River Miners with a 3-2 overtime win in Ear Falls last Wednesday and then a 5-1 victory in Hoyt Lakes on Friday.
But the Miners battled back to take Game 3 in Hoyt Lakes by a 7-3 score on Saturday.
English River will have home-ice advantage when Game 4 goes tonight at the Cochenour Arena.
Game 5, if necessary, will go Wednesday back in Hoyt Lakes.
