Ice Wolves earn point on road

The La Ronge Ice Wolves started their weekend Friday with a tough 5-4 loss in a shootout on the road against the Battlefords North Stars.

The Ice Wolves had a 3-0 lead in the second period and a 4-3 edge late in regulation, but they were unable to smother the North Stars.

“I thought we came out and had a great first period, getting the lead,” said Ice Wolves Asst. Coach Kyle Schneider. “We played with better structure and did not give them a lot of scoring opportunities.”

Mason Bueckert, Cole Thomas, Dylan Handel and Max Henderson scored for La Ronge. Topher Chirico turned away 43 shots in a losing cause. 

Colton Getzlaff, Josh Medernach, Jackson Allan and Brad Blake replied for the North Stars. Matthew MacArthur stopped 36 shots for his fourth win of the season. 

The Ice Wolves will look to rebound Saturday night in North Battleford against the North Stars. 

“I don’t think we need to change a whole lot,” said Schneider. “We just have to have the confidence to finish off games. We can’t get on our heels, we need to stay on our toes for 60 minutes.”

Despite the loss, the Ice Wolves managed to earn a point against one of the league’s best teams.

La Ronge is now 14-24-4 on the season, which has them five points back of the Kindersley Klippers for the last playoff spot.