Ice Wolves stumble in North Battleford

The La Ronge Ice Wolves ended their weekend with a 7-4 setback Saturday in North Battleford.

“It was a little bit opposite of what we saw yesterday,” said Ice Wolves Asst. Coach Kyle Schneider. “I didn’t think our execution was that good tonight. Obviously, you don’t want to get into a specialty teams battle with the Battlefords.”

The Ice Wolves trailed 6-2 in the second frame, but they managed to tally twice in the middle stanza to make it interesting.

Dylan Handel, Will Forsberg, Seth Dragan and Parker Layton scored for the Ice Wolves. Eric Kahl got the start in the La Ronge net, but he was replaced by Topher Chirico after allowing five goals on 23 shots. Chirico stopped seven shots in a relief appearance.

Alex Izyk and Kian Bell both scored twice for the North Stars, while Brad Blake, Jackson Allan and Riley Girod also found the back of the net. Logan Cunningham was not particularly busy, turning away 19 shots for the win.  

“We have been saying it for a couple weeks now, every game from here on out is our playoffs,” said Schneider. “It’s a do-or-die mentality. We have to have those second and third efforts. We have to find a way to get some wins here.”

With the loss, the Ice Wolves slipped to 14-25-4 on the season, which has them in 11th place. La Ronge is five points back of the Weyburn Red Wings for the final playoff spot in the SJHL. 

The Ice Wolves will look to rebound next Friday night in La Ronge when they host the Melville Millionaires at the Mel Hegland Uniplex.