The La Ronge Ice Wolves recorded their fourth straight win on Friday night in Estevan when they skinned the Bruins 5-4.
“We kind of came out slow a little bit, but once we got our feet going and started working their defencemen, we kind of took control in their zone,” said Ice Wolves Associate Coach Gaelan Patterson. “Defensively, we just played smart, just played together — played tight.”
The Bruins jumped out to a 1-0 lead 47 seconds into the game after Griffin Asham-Moroz beat Liam McGarva on the first shot of the game. McGarva’s shutout streak ended, but he ended the night with 29 saves for his fifth win of the campaign.
The Ice Wolves tied the game at one following a sneaky goal by Kyle Ford at the side of the net 6:55 into the contest. Ford extended his goal streak to four games and now has 14 points in 13 games this season. La Ronge went up 2-1 after Dylan Thackeray sent a seeing-eye shot home for his first of the season 16:49 into the stanza. The Bruins tied the game at two 18:31 into the game when Tyler Savage found the back of the net.
The Ice Wolves wasted no time restoring the lead on the power play 41 seconds into the second period when Aaron Greyeyes rifled his fourth of the campaign upstairs past Randy Cooke for his fourth of the season. Austin King-Cunningham tied the game at three on the power play late in the middle frame.
The Ice Wolves took a 4-3 advantage 1:01 into the third when Jordan Mish wired a shot upstairs for his second of the season. La Ronge took a 5-3 lead with 10 seconds left in the game when Jake Gudjonson potted an empty-netter. The Bruins would and a late goal at the buzzer, but the damage was done and the Ice Wolves skated out of Estevan with two points.
With the win, the Ice Wolves improved to 6-7 on the season, which has them sitting in sixth in the overall standings. La Ronge closes out the four-game swing on Saturday in Humboldt when they meet the Broncos for the first time this season.
Ice Wolves Associate Coach Gaelan Patterson says using their speed on Saturday will be key.
“Play behind them, they got big strong defencemen,” said Ice Wolves Associate Coach Gaelan Patterson. “We’ve got to play with our speed and cycle it — put them to work that way.
You can catch the action Saturday on MBC Network Radio with Braden Malsbury. The pre-game show gets underway at 7:15 p.m.
(PHOTO: The Ice Wolves scored a 5-4 win Friday in Estevan. Photo by Braden Malsbury.)