By Gary Moskalyk
The 3rd week of SIJHL action is in the books and Gary Moskalyk has your full recap.
Dryden 7 at Sioux Lookout 6 OT Wednesday
Max Roby scored at 50 seconds of overtime as the Dryden Ice Dogs defeated Sioux Lookout 7-6 in overtime. The Bombers remained undefeated on the season while the Dogs are barking at their heels with four wins and a loss.
The teams were 1-1 through the first period, tied 3-3 after two, and Connor Burke’s goal at 18:17 of the third on a Bomber powerplay knotted the game at 6-6 after three.
Elias Eisenbarth opened the scoring at 14:38 on a tip in. Blake Burke had one go off his skate and in late in the period on a Bomber powerplay to tie it.
The teams exchanged four second period markers. Nolan Palmer and Owen Riffel scored for Sioux Lookout, Kaden Bandura and Eli Antoine for Dryden.
In the third frame, six players hit the mark. Blake Burke got his second on a one-timer, Geoff Bjarnason scored a Dryden powerplay at 2:42 for Dryden, and Riffel got his second of the game and ninth of the season unassisted when he stole the puck from behind the Dryden net and beat Michael O’Sullivan on a wrap around.
Eisenbarth and Antoine each scored for Dryden to take a 6-5 lead. Eisenbarth went over Jack Osmond’s glove and Antoine’s marker was an absolute snipe from a tight angle.
Burke’s late goal with 1:43 left sent the game into extra time.
Carson Devine rumbled in on a Dryden breakaway. Osmond stopped his shot, but the rebound went to Roby who buried it for the game-winner.
Riffel continued his prolific production with a two goal two assist night. Blake Burke matched it. Palmer and Connor Burke had a goal and assist each.
Antoine had two goals and a helper, Eisenbarth two goals, and Devine had three assists to lead the Dryden charge. Bandura and Roby had a goal and assist each.
The Bombers were 4-6 on the powerplay while Dryden was 1-2.
O’Sullivan stopped 32 of 38 shots for win. Osmond faced 46 shots and saved 39 of them.
The Hangar attracted 467 patrons.
Dryden 4 at Thunder Bay 2 Friday
Sean Smith scored a pair and Ewan Soutar stopped 24 of 26 as the visiting Ice Dogs vaulted into first place with a 4-2 win. Max Roby and McLaren Paulsen also had a goal and assist each for Dryden.
Smith opened the scoring at 9:44 of the first, corralling a loose puck and beating Keenan Marks low blocker side. Magnus Pearson scored his first of season at 7:21 of the second frame. The Stars had a 3-on-1, got two shots on Soutar, with Pearson clicking on the third crack at it. Paulsen’s one-timer at 13:57 of period two put Dryden up one entering the third.
Smith’s second goal put the Ice Dogs up by two at 13:57 of the third. Ryland Maier’s pass sent him into the clear and Smith converted for a 3-1 lead.
EJ Paddington got his 4th of the year on a 6-on-4 to close the gap. Stars’ head coach Rob DeGagne pulled Marks for a two-man advantage with Dryden in the box. Drew Caddo’s hot shot from the point was saved by Soutar. Edison Weeks took a whack at it before Paddington deposited from in close to narrow the score at 16:32.
Thunder Bay yanked Marks again later in the third but Max Roby’s empty-netter with 12 seconds left sealed the deal for the Dogs.
Marks stopped 29 of 32 for his second loss of the season. He has Thunder Bay’s lone win. Soutar’s goals against stands at 1.68 and his SV% is .948.
The Stars took 14 of 26 penalty minutes. Dryden was 0-5 on the PP while Thunder Bay was 1-4.
An opening night crowd of 653 attended.
Dryden 4 at Thunder Bay 1 Saturday
Max Roby notched a hat trick and Ewan Soutar stopped 36 of 37 as the first place Ice Dogs completed a sweep at Fort William Gardens. Dryden is on a four-game winning streak. Thunder Bay fell to 1-4-0 on the season.
Roby’s first marker opened the scoring at 14:06 of the first. Eli Antoine’s pass/shot sailed through the crease and Roby was there to redirect the puck past Ethan Barron. Roby went low blocker on a Dryden powerplay 1:48 later for a 2-0 lead.
Ben Coatham scored his first of the campaign unassisted squeaking one through Barron’s pads for a 3-0 Dryden lead.
EJ Paddington got Thunder Bay on the board at 11:16 of the third, connecting in the slot on a feed from Easton Mikus.
Thunder Bay yanked Barron with over three minutes left looking for the comeback. Instead Roby foiled the plan with an empty netter for his 7th of the year at 16:51 to drive the final nail.
Barron stopped 26 of 29 in the North Stars’ cage. Soutar is among the league leaders with three wins, 1.51 GAA and .953 SV%.
The Dogs were 1-4 on the PP, Thunder Bay 0-7.
Dryden took nine of 16 minor penalties. Attendance numbers were not available at press time.
Wisconsin 2 at Red Lake 3 Friday
Blake Hiltermann tied the game in the third period and scored at 4:44 of overtime as the Miners defeated Wisconsin 3-2 at Cochenour Arena. Wisconsin held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 but couldn’t hold them.
Koen Burkholder scored unassisted at 17:00 of the first to draw first blood. Noah Tenney struck at 17:47 of the second frame to knot the score for Red Lake. Tenney scored from a sharp angle during 4-on-4 play.
Connor Corcoran connected at 5:49 of the third on a Lumberjacks’ powerplay, backhanding one over Trent Boryszczuk’s blocker. Hiltermann equalized at 12:41, sneaking one through the pads of Wisconsin’s Jakob Barcelona who was making his first SIJHL start.
Hiltermann went five-hole in 3-on-3 overtime to give Boryszczuk his third win in net. The Calgary-born Hiltermann has four goals on the campaign. Boryszczuk sports a 2.70 GAA and .930 SV% in the early going.
Boryszczuk faced 33 shots while Barcelona stopped 33 of 36.
The teams split 48 penalty minutes down the middle. Wisconsin was 1-6 while Red Lake was 0-3.
Wisconsin 3 at Red Lake 8 Saturday
Skyler Carriere scored two, Jared Burnett had a goal and two assists and three other Miners had two points each as the Red Lake Miners defeated Wisconsin 8-3 on home ice. Red Lake improved to 4-2-0 on the young season. Wisconsin fell to 1-3-2.
The Lumberjacks showed early promise. Koen Burkholder scored on a 2-on-0 at 0:52 to open the scoring for Wisconsin. Gabe Tanton’s shorthanded goal, an over the shoulder wrister, beat William Forrester at 14:51 of the first to knot it up.
The Miners poured in five in the second period to take control of the game. Jared Burnett unassisted, Luke DeCorby on the powerplay, and Carriere with two in a row at 11:05 and 13:38, put a 5-1 up on the board. Carriere’s second goal ended Forrester’s night in favour of Rylan Freshwater.
Marshall Thomas got his first for Wisconsin at 18:31 but Carter Deschamps answered with just two seconds left in frame to re-establish a four-goal Miners’ cushion going into the final 20.
Bryson Carlyle got his first on a Miner powerplay at 6:32 and Brody Lindal added 45 seconds later for an 8-2 score. Wisconsin’s Nolan Fowler ended the scoring at 11:23.
Carlyle and Tanton added assists, and Blake Hiltermann had two apples to abet the Miners’ cause. Fowler and Thomas had two point nights for Wisconsin.
Forrester stopped 23 of 28 and Freshwater thwarted 12 of 15 in the Wisconsin cage. Trent Boryszczuk turned aside 31 of 34 for his fourth win against a loss. He’s sitting at a 2.76 GAA and .928 SV%.
Wisconsin incurred 34 penalty minutes while Red Lake had 20. Red Lake clicked twice in five manpower advantages. Wisconsin was 0-4.
Kam River 5 at Fort Frances 0 Friday
Nikolas Fagnilli scored two and Ashton Sadauskas stopped all 22 shots for a shutout as the Fighting Walleye raided the Fort for a 5-0 win.
Jeremy Dunmore chipped in with a goal and helper and Kaden Goodwin had two assists to buoy the Kam River attack.
Jeremy Dunmore scored from the slot at 8:32 of the first. Jett Mintenko hit the scoresheet on a backhander at 8:00 of the second. Fagnilli polished off a tic-tac-toe with Goodwin and Max Wright for his goal of the season later in the frame.
Kam River tacked on two more in the final 20.
Liam Bell got his first at 3:38 and Fagnilli connected on the powerplay at 7:49 for the game’s final tally.
Former Walleye Jack Orchard faced 42 shots in the Laker net.
The Lakers took 32 of 54 penalty minutes doled out by referees Kyle Brend and Franco Veneziano. The Walleye were 1-3 with man advantage, while Fort struck out in their three chances.
Attendance was a tidy 555.
Kam River 6 at Fort Frances 2 Saturday
Wisconsin entered familiar territory–an .800 winning percentage–with their 6-2 win on Saturday. Jett Mintenko led the Walleye with a pair of goals and Ashton Sadauskas saved 26 of 28 to up his record to 3-1-0.
Mintenko scored from the high slot over Lucas Toth’s glove at 6:14 to open the scoring. Landon Lowes wrap around on a Fort Frances powerplay at 12:46 tied the game at 12:46. Brydon Bell’s far side wrister had the Walleye up 2-1 after one.
Mintenko deflected a shot from the point for his second goal of the game at 1:52 of period two. Caleb Labelle got his first at 14:51.
Kam River scored two of three in the third to an exclamation point on the win.
Riley Borody notched his first of the year making it 5-1. Pierce Gouin scored on a Wisconsin powerplay to narrow the lead to three, but Kaden Goodwin salted away Kam River victory number four at 15:29.
Kam River was 0-1 with the man advantage. Both of Fort Frances’ goals came on the powerplay. They were 2-5.
The Fighting Walleye bit off 42 of the 58 penalty minutes doled out.
Attendance was 492.
Kenora 3 at Sioux Lookout 7 Saturday
Sioux Lookout’s undefeated-in-regulation run continued against Kenora with a 7-3 win before 496 fans at the Hangar. Tait Howell had two goals to pave the way offensively for the Bombers, with rifleman Owen Riffel and Blake Burke having one goal and two assists each. Riffel is the first player in the league to hit 10 goals. He was shutout in game one of the season but has scored at least one goal and registered three or more points in five consecutive games.
Tristen Bear had a goal and assist, and John Paul Scaringi had two helpers for Kenora.
Howell scored unassisted at 26 seconds, picking up a loose puck in the Islander zone and beating Matthew Stephens, part of a three-goal opening salvo for the Bombers. Riffel’s wrap around attempt went right to Blake Burke for a 2-0 lead at 2:18 and Riffel scored 11 seconds into a Sioux Lookout powerplay for the early 3-0 start. Exactly five minutes later Jeremiah Jacques’ backhander at 17:49 had Kenora down by two.
Sioux Lookout scored three of the four second period goals to take a commanding 6-2 lead. Jonah Smith scored from in tight just nine seconds into the middle frame. Aaron Bertschinger reduced the lead to two with his top of the circle high glove side goal. But Howell and Connor Burke both counted later in the period.
Bear and Nolan Palmer traded goals in the third.
Matthew Ofukany stopped 21 of 24 for the Bomber win. Stephens was bombarded with 54 shots, stopping 47.
Sioux Lookout was 2-7 on the powerplay. Their 35.3 percent rating through six games ranks number one in the SIJHL. Kenora was 1-9. The Bombers took 35 of 56 penalty minutes given out.