New Additions Pay Dividends as Ice Wolves Defeat Millionaires
Courtesy of Braden Maksbury, MBC Radio News
The La Ronge Ice Wolves snapped a four-game losing streak on Friday night at home when they downed the Melville Millionaires 5-2.
“It was actually a very good performance by the whole team,” said Ice Wolves Head Coach and GM Kevin Kaminski. “I thought Booker Chacalias and James Philpott really joined in very nicely.”
The game came just after a day the Ice Wolves completed a blockbuster trade with Melville. The swap paid immediate dividends for the Ice Wolves, as Booker Chacalias netted a hat trick in his La Ronge debut. Chacalias, a Calgary product, opened the scoring 18:40 into the game when he beat Scott Bird in the slot for his sixth of the campaign. Just 15 seconds later, Jordan Mish jammed home his third of the season in tight, which made it a 2-0 game.
The Ice Wolves went up 3-0 1:18 into the second on the power play after Chacalias directed home his second of the evening. After going four games without a goal, Daylon Mannon notched his 12th of the season 13:26 into the frame, which propelled La Ronge to a 4-0 advantage. Aidan Steinke netted a goal late in the middle frame for Melville, as the Ice Wolves took a 4-1 lead heading into the third.
Booker Chacalias completed the trick 2:44 into the third when he deked out Kaleb McEachern, who replaced Scott Bird in the Melville net. Melville’s Dylan Thackeray tallied 15:13 into the third on the power play against his old team when he sent an offering from the point that snuck past Liam McGarva, which made it a 5-2 contest, but that’s as close as the Millionaires would get.
“The boys were working hard, got a bit of puck luck. I was fortunate out there and I just shot the puck,” said Chacalias. “Both my linemates, it felt like we’d been playing forever together, it was wicked.”
With the win, the Ice Wolves improved to 8-11-2 on the season, which still has them sitting in seventh in the overall standings.
La Ronge will look for its second straight win on Saturday night in Humboldt when they take on the Broncos for the second time this season. Earlier this season, Humboldt defeated La Ronge 6-3.
You can catch Saturday’s tilt on MBC Network Radio with Braden Malsbury. The pre-game show is slated to get underway at 7:15 p.m.