The La Ronge Ice Wolves kicked off their post-season in style Friday night in Yorkton when they dumped the Terriers 6-1.
“It was a pretty solid game by us,” said Ice Wolves Associate Coach Gaelan Patterson. “I think we kind of had a lull in the second period, but we came back strong in the third and then took control.”
The Ice Wolves opened the scoring just 31 seconds into the game when Jake Gudjonson slid his first of the playoffs past Matthew Pesenti, who made 29 saves in a losing cause. La Ronge took a 2-0 advantage 12:15 into the frame when James Philpott sent a sneaky shot on net that was tipped home by Grant Longtin on the power play.
The Ice Wolves went up 3-0 with 27 seconds left in the first following Daylon Mannon’s first SJHL playoff goal. Ty Budai fed Mannon, who wired the puck home from the left circle shorthanded.
The Terriers cut La Ronge’s lead to two 5:46 into the second when Chantz Petruic connected on the man advantage. The Ice Wolves answered the call 7:53 into the stanza when Holden Knights tallied on a breakaway, which gave La Ronge a 4-1 lead. The Ice Wolves went up 5-1 18:36 into the period on the power play when Kevin Fillier sent a seeing-eye shot into the back of the net.
Early into the third, Daylon Mannon was hit hard into the boards behind Yorkton’s net by Kaeden Taphorn. A bit later in the period, Mannon and Taphorn dropped the gloves at centre ice.
“It fired me up pretty good,” said La Ronge forward Grant Longtin. “Seeing a guy like that, with that many points, stand up for himself like that — it really gets everybody going.”
The Ice Wolves took a 6-1 lead 16:52 into the third following Ben Manson’s marker on the power play.
La Ronge will look to take a 2-0 series lead on Saturday night in Yorkton when they meet the Terriers for the second straight night. You can catch the action on MBC Network Radio with Braden Malsbury. The pre-game show is slated to get underway at 7:15 p.m.
Following Saturday’s matchup, the Ice Wolves will return home for games three and four next Tuesday and Wednesday at the Mel Hegland Uniplex.
(PHOTO: The Ice Wolves celebrate the win Friday. Photo courtesy of Braden Malsbury.)