Oct 30, 2021
Dryden, ON
By: Jay-D Haughton
It was Food Bank Night at the Dryden Memorial Arena last night (October 30, 2021), and both the Ice Dogs (5-6-1-0) and the Kam River Fighting Walleye (6-2-1-0) were hungry for the two points.
It was the Fighting Walleye that outlasted Dryden GM as they earned their fourth road win of the season winning 6-4 and improving to 2-1 against the Ice Dogs.
Between the pipes to start the game was Riley Gross making his third start for the home side, and Austin Madge getting the nod for the fifth time this season for Kam River.
The first period consisted of many goals as both teams combined for six in the period.
Dryden GM was blessed with an early five on three powerplay but couldn’t put one past the Fighting Walley netminder.
A Tristan Takats interference penalty would prove to be costly as the Fighting Walleye’s Keaton Mercredi put one past Gross for his third of the season on the powerplay to open the scoring.
Jeremy Dumore and Tyler Ralph picked up the assists.
Carson Gorst extended Kam River’s lead as he picked up his second of the season just 30 seconds later to give the visitors a 2-0 lead five minutes into the game.
Dunmore and Mercredi picked up their second points of the game with the assists on the goal.
Just past the twelve-minute mark, Kam River’s hot sticks struck again as an unassisted goal from Colton Crysler found the back of the net to extend their lead to 3-0.
That goal finished the night for Hazenmore, SK product Gross as he was pulled giving up three goals on six shots.
Newly acquired Evan Van Laeken took over the goalie duties in relief.
Not even a minute after the goalie change, Tyler Earl was able to spring Ian Kimble on a shorthanded breakaway, and he was able to outwait Madge for his second of the year to cut the deficit to two.
Kam River would restore their three-goal lead twenty-five seconds later as Dunmore made a cross-ice pass to Tyler Ralph who put it just under the pad of the Ice Dogs goalie for his third.
Carson Gorst picked up the second assist.
Dryden’s Tyler Earl responded soon after getting his second of the season with Ondrej Bardos getting the helper.
After 20 minutes of play, Kam River had a 4-2 lead. Shots in the period were 15-8 in favour of the Ice Dogs.
The goal frenzy slowed down in the second period as both teams traded goals.
The first came by Kam River’s Ethan Lang as he was able to pounce on a Kyle Lamoureux point shot and put it in the back of the net to make it 5-2.
Under two minutes left in the frame, Dryden’s Maxime Collette picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and flew down the left-wing, and fired a seeing-eye shot over the blocker of Madge to make it 5-3.
In the second period, the shots were 13-10 for Dryden.
Early in the third period, Mercredi picked up his second of the game to make it 6-3 Kam River.
Late in the frame, Ice Dogs Brady Frattinger cut the lead to two and was able to find the back of the net for his second of the year.
That’s as close as the Ice Dogs would get, as Kam River walked out of Dryden with a 6-4 win.
The shots were 8-7 for Kam River for a total shot count of 35-26 for Dryden.
Dryden finished the night 0-5 on the powerplay, while Kam River was 2-4 with the man advantage.
Evan Van Laeken takes the loss giving up three goals on twenty shots.
Austin Madge wins his fourth game with a 31 save performance.
Three Stars:
- Keaton Mercredi (Kam River Fighting Walleye) Two goals and one assist
- Jeremy Dunmore (Kam River Fighting Walleye) Three assists
- Tyler Early (Dryden GM Ice Dogs) One goal and one assist
Next Up:
Dryden GM Ice Dogs vs Thunder Bay North Stars, Thursday, November 5.
Kam River Fighting Walleye vs Dryden GM Ice Dogs, Friday, November 6.