Pair of weekend wins for Lakers

A slow start to the SIJHL season is now a thing of the past for the Fort Frances Lakers.
After earning a 6-2 win Friday night at the Ice For Kids Arena over the league-leading Minnesota Wilderness, the Lakers made it four-straight victories with an 8-3 thumping of the Thunder Bay North Stars here Saturday.

“They [Thunder Bay] were a little short-benched over there and were missing a few key players in their lineup,” Lakers’ head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan said after the convincing win.
“But I’m not going to take away anything from our game,” he stressed.
“We played pretty well, I thought, throughout the three periods and we’ll just get a good rest tonight [Saturday] and see what Monday brings in Dryden.”
Leading the way Saturday was captain Merritt Rysavy, who scored a pair of goals in the second period and also assisted on Colton Spicer’s first-period marker.
“The guys are all pretty happy about this one,” Rysavy enthused.
“It was a good game and everyone seems to be coming together a little bit more now.
“But we have to keep going from here and we can’t get any big heads,” he warned.
Spicer, who left the game in the second period with an apparent knee injury, also scored two goals while Jon Bachman, Kevin Kurm, Alex Bruess, and Mason Meyer added singles.
Mathias Gardiman, Kolton Kahoot, and Cary Brown replied for the North Stars.
On Friday night, Lakers’ goalie Tanner Hamilton was stellar between the pipes against the Wilderness, turning aside 34 shots to help his team earn their first win on home ice this season.
“This game was right up there with a win that I had here last season against Duluth,” Hamilton enthused afterward.
“This one, though, has a special meaning to it after [former Laker] Jaret [Leclair] passed away last weekend, and a lot of the boys used that as inspiration,” he added.
Rysavy and Kurm each netted a pair of goals to lead the way, with Spicer and Hunter Leishman also lighting the lamp.
Nick McCormack and Michael MacKinnon scored for the Wilderness.
The Lakers (4-3-0-1) will look to extend their winning streak, and jump into third place in the SIJHL standings, against the host Ice Dogs in a rare Monday night tilt.
Tonight’s game originally was scheduled to take place Wednesday, but was moved up a couple of days so the team can attend a memorial service for Leclair in Marathon.
The next game at the Ice For Kids Arena goes Thursday (Oct. 18) at 7:30 p.m., when the Minnesota Iron Rangers visit for the first time this season.