Ice Wolves tame Bruins
The La Ronge Ice Wolves returned to the win column when they grinded out a 5-4 shootout win Friday night at home versus the Estevan Bruins.
“We gave up two early, but we just stuck to the game plan,” said Ice Wolves Asst. Coach Kyle Schneider. “We were just getting on the forecheck, getting after them, finishing every check, making it tough on them.”
The Estevan Bruins came our firing, scoring twice before the game was three minutes old. The Ice Wolves got on the board 8:28 into the first when Rylan Silzer wired home his third of the season past Cam Hrdlicka, who made 42 saves in the loss.
The Bruins took a 3-1 advantage 6:34 into the second when Owen Barrow tallied. The Ice Wolves made it a 3-2 contest 12:04 into the frame on the power play when Walker Jerome jammed in his 15th of the season in his 100th career regular season game. La Ronge tied the game at three 14:35 into the stanza after Dallyn Peekeekoot sent a rocket past Hrdlicka.
The Ice Wolves took their first lead of the evening three minutes into the third after Liam McInnis recorded his second of the campaign. Mitch Kohner tied the game at four 12:45 into the third frame, which forced overtime.
The Ice Wolves had several opportunities to end it in the extra session, but they could not find a way to solve Cam Hrdlicka. In the shootout, Walker Jerome scored the only goal of the skills competition, giving the Ice Wolves the extra point.
“We definitely battled back and we showed who the Ice Wolves are,” said La Ronge forward Walker Jerome. “We’re definitely going to try and come out a little hotter tomorrow.”
Topher Chirico was solid, making 33 saves for the victory in the La Ronge net.
With the win, La Ronge improved to 23-13-4 on the season, which has them sitting third in the SJHL standings.
The Ice Wolves will search for their second straight win Saturday night at home when they host the Estevan Bruins.