THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. – The surging Thief River Falls Norskies won their third straight game to remain unbeaten in December and improve to 7-1 in their past eight outings as they went on to defeat the Fort Frances Lakers 6-2 Thursday evening in Superior International Junior Hockey League play at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Each side would score once in the first period with Tyler Malpass giving Fort Frances and early lead, only to see Isaac Baron counter for Thief River Falls a couple of shifts later.
An offensive flurry in the second stanza saw the Norskies strike three times in rapid succession Bryce Johnson, Jack Michels and Nick Harder all connected in the opening two minutes of the frame.
After Matthieu Harrold got one back for the Lakers at 14:05, Michels added another shortly afterwards as he registered multiple points for a seventh straight contest while extending a consecutive game point streak to 11 straight.
The hosts picked up some insurance 11 minutes into the third as Mason McIntosh rounded out the night’s scoring.
Chipping in with three assists in the triumph for Thief River Falls was Tyler Johnson, giving him points in 14 straight outings.
Norskies netminder Seth Purcilly made 31 stops to record the victory.
Dylan Kosik started for Fort Frances and suffered the loss, allowing five against on 24 shots while handled six of seven in relief.
Photo credit: Tim Benton