FORT FRANCES, Ont. – A Spencer Milne marker with two and a half minutes remaining in the first period held up as the game-winner as the visiting Red Lake Miners went on to defeat the Fort Frances Lakers 3-1 in a Superior International Junior Hockey League encounter Tuesday evening at Ice for Kids Arena.
Red Lake began quickly, notching the night’s opening tally 1:27 on Morgan Venne’s seventh of the season.
Fort Frances came back to tie it at 15:08 off a goal mouth scramble where Flynn Perry shovelled the puck from the side of the net where it clipped off the post and left Lakers’ captain Noah Loveday with a tap in into the an open net.
Coming back a couple of shifts later, the Miners collected the eventual difference maker that saw Ethan Stuckless make a cross-ice feed over to Milne on the left side as he one-timed his effort past Fort Frances starter Dylan Kosick.
Both netminders held firm from there until the latter moments of regulation where Red Lake added some insurance after working the puck free along the right side board and allowed Tucker Evans to pass it to Ryan Patterson, who lifted a back hand in over the glove of Kosik, to round out the scoring.
Miners goalkeeper Zach Willms was solid making 44 saves to record the win, helping his side improve to 8-4-0-1 on the campaign and move past the 7-6-1-0 Lakers into second spot in the SIJHL standings.
Kosik saw 27 shots fired his way in defeat.
Photo credit: Clint Bruyere