Fort Frances, ON
The Fort Frances Lakers faced the Thunder Bay North Stars on Friday, September 18, 2026, at the Memorial Sports Centre. The game started off scoreless, with both teams playing a physical first period. The Lakers had a few penalties in the opening period, but goaltender Domenik McInenly kept the North Stars off the scoreboard. After the first period, the score remained 0–0.
The Lakers opened the scoring early in the second period when Dax Laplante scored at 7:42, with assists from Isaac Arsenault and Ayden MacKay. Thunder Bay answered later in the period with two goals, including a power-play goal from Aiden Edwards and a goal from Keegan Bragnalo with just over 30 seconds left in the period. The North Stars took a 2–1 lead into the third period.
Thunder Bay took control in the third period, scoring three goals to finish the game with a 5–1 victory. Chance Loke and Ben Exell scored power-play goals, and Mitch Vanderwey added an empty-net goal late in the game. The North Stars finished with 44 shots on goal compared to 26 for the Lakers. Domenik McInenly made 39 saves for Fort Frances, while Thunder Bay goaltender Eleazar Andrusco stopped 25 of 26 shots.
