It was a much needed victory for the Fort Frances Lakers.
After winning the first two games of their SIJHL semifinal series against the Kam River Fighting Walleye at home, the Lakers had a tough couples of losses on the road. As they returned home for game 5, they were looking to retake the momentum.
It was another packed house at the Memorial Sports Centre in the Ice For Kids Arena. Over 800 people filled the stands to cheer on the home team.
The Lakers opened the scoring just over five minutes into the game off the stick of Jace Van Eps.
Tegan Wrolstad extended the lead for Fort Frances with their second goal, coming about 10 minutes in.
Judd Pesch was the next Laker to find the back of the net almost 17 minutes into the game.
The Walley answered right back with a goal of their own. It came from Eron Mitchell.
All of the scoring was done in the first period. Lakers goalie, and newly named SIJHL Rookie of the Year, Brady Cates shut the door. While Walleye goaltender Sam Keene kept everything out of the net from then on as well. Kam River outshot Fort Frances 33 to 26, but it wasn’t enough.
The Fighting Walleye are now looking ahead to game 6 on Sunday night. They need another home win to even the series up once again. In fact, Kam River must win two straight games in order to have a chance to defend their SIJHlL championship.
While the Fort Frances Lakers are looking to finish this series off and punch their ticket to the SIJHL finals. It’s a chance for the Lakers to compete for the Bill Salonen Cup for the first time in a decade. They haven’t been to a finals since their last victory in 2016, capping of a three-peat run of championships.
