HOYT LAKES, Minn. – A Nolan Ross effort was the lone goal in the shootout as the Fort Frances Lakers edged the Thunder Bay 3-2 Tuesday afternoon in Game 1 of the Superior International Junior Hockey League Showcase at Hoyt Lakes Arena.
In a game that featured standout goaltending by both the North Stars Eric Mann and the Lakers Pierce Dushenko, it was Thunder Bay that opened the scoring 7:49 into the contest as Brendan Gillis fed Brad Thrower who cut into the left face-off circle and snapped one past Dushenko for his 10th tally of the season.
Fort Frances pressed for the equalizer later in the session and hit a goal post and a cross bar and were also stymied by Mann, who made a big save on a shot from the slot during a Lakers man advantage opportunity.
Second period action saw both teams trades chances with the respective goalkeepers coming up large.
Fort Frances would draw level with seven minutes left in the middle stanza as during a delayed penalty Nolan Ross finished off a nice three-way passing play from in close with A.J. Rupert and Dylan Ross drawing assists on the tying tally.
Thunder Bay re-took the lead with a late power play marker from Jake Robinson as he banged in a rebound off a Joe Newhouse point shot at 15:15.
The Lakers battled back to knot the affair again and force extra time as Fort Frances defenceman Nick Minerva drove into the Thunder Bay zone and let a low shot go that beat Mann from the right side with 3:14 to go.
Neither side could capitalize in the five-minute OT session thus sending the contests to extra shots to determine a winner.
It was there that Ross supplied the only goal in the shootout as his backhand just got past Mann to give Fort Frances the second point in the contest.
Dushenko made 28 saves to register his league-leading 20th win of the season while Mann impressed making 44 stops in regulation and OT and two more in the shootout setback for Thunder Bay.
The North Stars Nick Nigro and Kenny Turner had respective 11 and 10-game point streaks snapped in defeat.
Game 2 of the Showcase features the Minnesota Iron Rangers hosting the Cochrane Crunch of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League at 7 p.m.
The contests between SIJHL clubs count towards the league standings while the two Cochrane match-ups are exhibition games.
Each SIJHL game, including the Showcase, is available online, on a pay-per-view basis, at FASTHockey.com.
