SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
SIJHL MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Friday, Jan. 13, 2017
Photo credit: Clint Bruyere
Lakers’ Bodnar blanks Norskies with 40-save effort
FORT FRANCES, Ont. – Brandon Bodnar turned aside all 40 shots fired his way to record his first shutout of the season as the Fort Frances Lakers blanked the Thief River Falls Norskies 5-0 in Superior International Junior Hockey League action Friday evening at Ice for Kids Arena.
The contest was scoreless until late in the first period when Jaden Gustafson put Fort Frances on the board at 18:14.
Action in the middle stanza saw the Lakers break it open as they scored three times to take a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes.
An early power play helped Matt Tustin put the hosts up by two while Tyler Malpass supplied his 11th of the campaign midway through the session to add to the cushion.
Tustin’s second of the frame and 12th overall kept Fort Frances rolling and put an end to Norskies’ starter Kross Bratten’s night in favour of Sam Novak.
Malpass added one more at 14:49 of the third to round out the scoring.
Bodnar did the rest to secure the win and blank Thief River Falls for the first time in their early tenure in the SIJHL.
Kross suffered the loss allowing four on 21 shots while Novak handled 10 of 11 in just over 26 minutes of relief.