By Brett Richter
With a good chunk of the 25-26 season in the books and the playoffs looming, the SIJHL took a break from regular play to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the SIJHL and the 25th anniversary of the Dryden GM Ice Dogs. The celebration weekend incorporated an All-Star break with the skills competition on Friday and the All-Star game on Saturday.
Friday’s skills challenge included five individual disciplines including the fastest league skater, the league’s most accurate shooter, the league’s hardest shot, a team relay race, and the overtime shootout. The evening culminated with a three-on-three full ice contest with the Red Team facing the White Team.
The Red Team was under the careful coaching eye of Dryden head coach and All-Star weekend host, Jake Gushue. The White Team was headed up by Kam River’s head coach, Larry Wintoneak.
The faster skater competition paired one Red Team player against on from the White Team. Each player circled the ice for one lap. Five pairs of competitors faced off against each other with the White Team winning three of the five races and earning one point in the skills competition. The overall faster skater, was Brodie Wood of the Sioux Lookout Bombers with a lap time of 13.53 seconds.
In the accuracy shooting contest, four targets were placed, one in each corner, of the goal net. The competitor set up in the slot, taking alternating passes from a teammate stationed at the goal line each side of the net. Competitors were timed to see who could take out all four targets in the quickest time. Fort Frances Lakers forward Tie Schumacher completed the task in a blistering 10.15 seconds. Zac Green, also of the Lakers, placed second with a very respectable time of 12.98 seconds. The Red Team took the point for the accuracy shooting contest. The score was tied at 1-1.
The speed radar stepped up next to measure the hardest shot contest. Officials placed a puck in the slot at the top of the circle. Four players from each team were allowed two shots at the net with the radar measuring shot speed. Jack Carruthers of the Ironwood Lumberjacks topped the chart with a rocket shot of 76 mph giving the point to the Red Team. Going into the relay race, the Red Team held a 2-1 lead over the White Team.
Each Team put a four-player relay team together, the relay consisted of stick handling, puck movement, breakaway speed and a final shot at a mini net. Each player had to fully complete the course before their teammate could begin their individual leg. The lead went back and forth and came down to the final shot with the Red Team beating the White Team with a last-minute score. Red Team extended their lead to 3-1.
With goalies seeing their first action of the evening, 5 players from each team set up for the shoot out. For the next two minutes, one player at a time took the puck from the blue line unopposed to the goalie taking their best shot. With both teams competing at the same time, the full rink was alive with activity. When the horn sounded, the White Team was one goal up on the Red Team. But even with the shootout victory, the Red Team won the skills portion 3-2.
After a brief break, a unique three-on-three hockey game began. The unique game format included three 15-minute periods, a running clock, one referee, and a penalty shot. With a lot of open ice, the game exhibited the offensive skills which charted the course for the All-Star players path to this particular weekend. As much as the offense was on display, the goal tenders also exhibited quick foot work and a keen eye for puck movement. At the end of 45 minutes, a total of 15 goals were scored with the Red Team sneaking out an 8-7 victory over the White Team.
The full All-Star game will be held Saturday evening at 7:30pm CST and available on SIJHL.TV.