Ice Wolves fall short in Flin Flon

The La Ronge Ice Wolves resumed a busy week with a tough 5-1 loss Friday in Flin Flon to the Bombers. 

“Give Flin Flon a lot of credit, this rink is always a tough barn to play in,” said Ice Wolves Asst. Coach Kyle Schneider. “They had a game plan, they got pucks deep, got in our zone and put a lot of pressure on us.”

La Ronge opened the scoring 6:16 into the game when Jacob Cossette jammed home his third of the campaign past Harmon Laser-Hume, who made 28 saves for the victory. 

Meantime, Brent Gulenchyn answered the call for Flin Flon at the 8:35 mark of the first, when he tucked the puck past Topher Chirico, who turned away 40 shots in the La Ronge net.

Jaxon Martens tallied twice in the second stanza, while Jacob Vockler and Cole Duperreault also found the back of the cage in the middle frame for the Bombers as they took a 5-1 lead into the third period. 

Neither club scored in the final stanza as the Bombers evened the season series with the Ice Wolves at one. La Ronge went 1/6 on the man advantage Friday evening, while the Bombers scored twice on six opportunities. 

With the loss, the Ice Wolves slipped to 21-10-2 on the season, which still has them controlling second in the SJHL standings. La Ronge will look to rebound Saturday on home ice when they take on the Bombers in the conclusion of the weekend series. 

“I think we all know we can bring a better 60-minute effort, said Schneider. “We’ll go over some video, we will make a game plan in the morning. I’m sure our boys will be ready to go for a huge one – and the last one before the Christmas break.”

Saturday’s matchup with the Bombers is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Mel Hegland Uniplex. If you donate a toque or a set of mitts, you will get into the game for $5.

Following the holidays, the Ice Wolves will resume their schedule Jan. 3 at home versus the Flin Flon Bombers.