THUNDER BAY – There may not be professional hockey on your television sets on Saturday nights. But that opens the opportunity to get ready to enjoy so really good live hockey in Thunder Bay. The Thunder Bay Northstars season is getting nearer.
The Superior International Junior Hockey Leage pre-season is winding down. This weekend in Minnesota at at the Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet, Mike MacKinnon tallied twice to help lift the Minnesota Wilderness to a 6-1 victory over the Fort Frances Lakers Sunday in SIJHL preseason action.
It capped off a weekend home-and-home sweep of the Lakers by the defending SIJHL champion Wilderness who skated to a 5-3 triumph in Fort Frances Saturday.
Jeremy Johnson, Brian Drapluk, Peter Barrell and Joseph Drapluk also scored for the home side who held intermission leads of 2-0 and 4-1.
JoJo Jeanetta turned aside 23 of 24 pucks he faced to register the win.
Notching the lone marker for the visiting Lakers was Mason Meyer.
Tanner Hamilton started and suffered the loss in net for Fort Frances, allowing four goals, before giving way to Dustin Stevens who let in two in relief. The duo faced a combined 43 shots in defeat.
The focus now shifts to the start of the SIJHL’s 12th campaign with the regular season getting underway Friday on three fronts.
On that night the Minnesota Iron Rangers host the Thunder Bay North Stars at 7 p.m. while the Wilderness head to Sioux Lookout to take on the Flyers and the Dryden Ice Dogs entertain the Duluth Clydesdales. The latter two contests commence at 7:30 p.m.