The La Ronge Ice Wolves closed out the road portion of their pre-season schedule with an 8-2 loss to the Battlefords North Stars on Saturday afternoon.
The Ice Wolves got off to a hot start, scoring twice just over six minutes into the game. The Ice Wolves scored on the man advantage 5:07 into the contest when Josh Poon found the back of the net. Max Kleiner tallied 6:04 into the stanza, putting the Ice Wolves up 2-0.
“It felt pretty good to get on the scoreboard early,” said Kleiner. “It was a good start for the team, but it went downhill a little bit.”
Following the Ice Wolves quick start, the North Stars scored twice late in the first. Both teams went into the room tied at two. After that, it was all North Battleford. The North Stars tallied six more times en route to the victory.
“We just got away from what was working for us,” said Ice Wolves Head Coach and GM Evan Vossen. “Right off the bat, we got pucks deep, went to work and played down low. Obviously, we scored a power play goal, which helps. At the end of the day, we got away from it and let them get some momentum.”
Jordan Frey made his pre-season debut for La Ronge and allowed eight goals on 41 shots.
The Ice Wolves will close out the pre-season schedule on Monday at home when the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard make their way to the Mel Hegland Uniplex. Monday’s contest is scheduled to get underway at 7:30 p.m.
The Ice Wolves will open the season next Friday when the Flin Flon Bombers come to town.
(PHOTO: The La Ronge Ice Wolves were swept in North Battleford over the weekend. Photo by Braden Malsbury.)