Staff
When it comes to sure-fire cures for a losing streak, facing the league’s hottest team on back-to-back nights in their home rink wouldn’t be most people’s first choice.
But that is the hand the Fort Frances Lakers (5-12-3) have been dealt as they head to Thunder Bay for a two-game set tonight and tomorrow against the Fort William North Stars (17-1).
The Lakers, riding a five-game skid, must try to figure out how to derail the Stars’ 11-game winning streak in a meeting between the SIJHL’s first- and last-place teams.
Fort Frances finds itself looking up at the rest of the league after a 7-1 thrashing at the hands of the second-place Ice Dogs (14-3-2) on Tuesday night in Dryden.
Power-play goals by Jon Mitchell at 14:56 and Tanner Harms at 17:01 had Dryden ahead 2-0 after the first.
Their lead stretched to 4-0 in the second when Mitchell netted his second of the night at 3:47 before Chad Liley fired one past Lakers’ goalie Jameson Shortreed at 5:26.
Blake Boaz made good on a Lakers’ power play at 15:54 with his fifth of the season to provide slight optimism to Fort Frances.
But Ice Dogs’ goalie Peter Emery (8-2-1 with a 2.10 goals against average) was unbeatable after that and Dryden made the game a blowout with three goals in the third.
Spencer Gyori made it 5-0 at 12:32, followed by Kyle Heck at 15:24 and B.J. McClellan just 56 seconds after that.
Dryden racked up a 53-27 advantage in shots.
