By Tanner Schafer
Fort Frances, ON – It was all about the man between the pipes on Tuesday night for Fort Frances as Brenden Stroble made 56 saves to force a game 4 in the series.
Fort Frances entered the game down 3-0 in the series with their backs against the wall and Dryden clearly wanted to secure a 2nd round berth, outshooting the Lakers 18-9 in the 1st period. Despite the shot edge neither team was able to find a goal and the game continued into the 2nd period tied at 0. Early in the period disaster struck for the Lakers as the GM Ice Dogs broke open the scoring with Ondrej Bardos finding the back of the net. The goal was assisted by Kaden Bandura and would be the only one of the night for the Ice Dogs. Dryden would hold the one goal lead throughout the 2nd period and into the final frame.
With potentially only 20 minutes left in the Lakers season it took just 55 seconds of that to find an equalizer. Landon Lowes scored on the powerplay assisted by Jack Wood and Clark Scaddan to tie the game at 1. Just before the halfway point of the 3rd Kevin Bond would give his team the lead on a goal assisted by Jack Wood and Brady Krentz. Despite intense pressure from Dryden throughout the rest of the game Fort Frances would hold on for a 2-1 win.
Brenden Stroble was the man of the match stopping 56 of 57 in a winning effort. Eric Clark made 23 saves and picked up the loss. Game 5 is in Dryden on Friday Night