FORT FRANCES, Ont. – Chase Robideau scored three times for his first Superior International Junior Hockey League hat trick and added an assist, while teammate Jaedin Ness tallied twice as the Fort Frances Lakers went on to defeat the Minnesota Iron Rangers 7-2 Sunday at Ice for Kids Arena.
Ness opened the scoring for the Lakers with the lone marker in the first frame, which came just past the six-minute mark of the period.
Minnesota drew level 6:32 into the middle stanza on Matt Turnbull’s seventh, only to see Fort Frances strike three times in rapid succession to go up 4-1 thanks to Ness, Nick Hahkala and Robideau.
The Iron Rangers did get one back late in the second off the stick of Garrett Wojcicki to make it a 4-2 game after 40 minutes.
Ethan Knutsen of Fort Frances and Minnesota’s Cam Birkeland, during a two-man advantage, traded tallies in the third before Robideau connected twice in the final minute, including putting one into an empty net, to round out the scoring.
Jakob Ruck chipped in with two assists for the Lakers.
Fort Frances netminder Matt Booth made 25 stops to record the win while Minnesota starter Synjen Amende saw 56 shots fired his way in defeat.
Photo credit: Clint Bruyere