THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. – A Matthew Dyck marker 2:12 into overtime was the difference as the Fort Frances Lakers rallied from a two-goal deficit to pull out a 3-2 victory over the Thief River Falls Norskies in Superior International Junior Hockey League action at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Thief River Falls opened the scoring on an early power play in the second stanza as Cole Carpenter nailed down his first SIJHL goal at 2:16.
That held up until the opening moments of the third period when Mason McIntosh put the home side up by a pair in the first minute.
Fort Frances began their comeback at 3:56 as Jack Lane put the visitors on the board.
The Lakers then tied it four minutes later as a Ben Hoefler effort levelled the proceedings at 2-2 and help force extra time.
Heading to OT, it was Fort Frances that prevailed Ben Hoefler starting the play behind his own net before getting up to Isaac Baron, who skated in on the left wing and fired a shot off the pad of Norskies goalkeeper Seth Purcilly that bounced right to Dyck who promptly lifted in a back hand for the game-winner.
The Norskies did hold the edge in shots by a 36-35 margin with Alex Bugeja picking up the win while Purcilly suffered the defeat in helping his squad earn a point.
Photo credit: Tim Benton