Dryden’s McLaren Paulsen has opened up a 10-point lead in the SIJHL scoring race (46 points), the first 20-20 man in 2024-25, with 20 goals and 26 helpers. Five other Ice Dogs are in the top ten: Max Roby, Carson Devine, Payton Hu, Eli Antoine and Emmanuel Nkombou. Dryden leads in points, 35, goals for, 125, PP%, 33.7% and penalty minutes, 504.
The first place Ice Dogs and second place Bombers split a weekend series. The defensively-minded Bombers have allowed the fewest goals at 52. Alex Lucas leads the team in scoring with 27 points. Matthew Ofukany, 2.32 goals against, and Matthew Spencer-Dahl, 2.60/.918 continue to excel in goal.
Kam River is 8-2-0 in their last 10. Jett Mintenko is second in the scoring race with 36 points. Daxton Lang, 14 goals 19 assists, is sixth in league scoring. Kaden Goodwin is 19th with 10 goals and 12 helpers. Former Lumberjack Sam Keene joins veteran Ashton Sadauskas between the pipes. Expect Keene’s numbers to keep improving. Sadauskas is 9-4-0.
Thunder Bay broke a four-game slump in a resounding 13-4 romp over Kenora on Saturday. The Stars joined Dryden in the triple-digit club–106 goals for in 19 games. Tyler Jordan is the top gun with 29 points. Alex Remenda, Beau Helmeczi, Cohen Tangedal, Tag Bryson, and top rookie producer Evan Simeoni are 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th and 17th in league scoring respectively. The Stars have the SI’s top penalty kill with a 92.1% rating. They’ve allowed five goals while killing off 63 penalties, scoring three shorthanded. The Stars have played 13 of 19 games on the road.
Fort Frances beat Thunder Bay and the Fighting Walleye in Week 10, continuing their rebuild ahead of schedule. The Lakers have points in 14 of their 20 games, and are five points out of second place. Gunner Paradis is 5-2-0, with a 2.37/.929 split. His save percentage leads the league. Brady Krentz has 23 points to lead the team in scoring.
Red Lake is now the league’s hottest entity, sporting a six-game unbeaten streak in regulation. Nathan Dann and Quinn Szpak have 24 and 21 points respectively. Ethan Rau leads the league with a 2.16 GAA in 250 minutes. Koen Webber is 6-2-0.
Ironwood lost two close ones to the Miners, but gained an overtime point on Friday and huge confidence boost with their improved play in Week 10. Marshall Thomas has 28 points (10th place in league scoring). Nolan Fowler has 18. Former Miner Trent Boryszczuk joins Kole Kronstedt between the pipes.
Kenora’s struggles continue. The Islanders are winless in their last 14 games. There’s been a marked decrease in Kenora’s penalty minute totals of late.
 | AT KAM RIVER FIGHTING WALLEYE |  | ||
| Kam River broke open a close game with three unanswered third period powerplay goals to defeat visiting Ironwood 6-2 before 1,200 fans at the Tournament Centre in a rare Tuesday morning start. Former Lumberjacks' goalie Sam Keene picked up his first win of the year making 19 saves for the Walleye. Kaden Goodwin scored the game's first two goals, Callum Halls and Carter Poddubny had a goal and assist each, and Evan Lachimea had two assists to help the Walleye reel in their 12th win and overtake the idle Thunder Bay North Stars for third place in the standings. After a scoreless first, Goodwin notched his ninth and 10th of the year 20 seconds apart early in the second period for a 2-0 Kam River lead. Marshall Thomas made it 2-1 with his ninth at 7:56 of the middle frame. Aidan Charron tied it at 16:03 on a Lumberjacks' powerplay. Sam Sargent regained the Kam River lead at 18:57. Poddubny, Halls and Tie Schumacher scored on Kam River powerplays in the third. The Walleye outshot Ironwood 17-1 in the period--46-21 overall--to roll to their second consecutive win and seventh in 10 games. The Lumberjacks lost their 10th in a row. Three Walleye players: Adam Kukko, Gage Hordy and Cole Piccinin collected their first SIJHL points of the season. Kukko garnered the primary assist on Goodwin's top corner snipe to open the scoring, and defencemen Hordy and Piccinin helped set up Schumacher's game-ending powerplay strike. Kole Kronstedt took the loss in net. Veteran Trent Boryszczuk will join Kronstedt between the pipes for the remainder of the Lumberjacks' season. Kam River was 3-6 with the man advantage while Ironwood was 1-7. The Lumberjacks took 18 of the 34 penalty minutes dished out. |
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 | AT KENORA DEVIL'S GAP ISLANDERS |  | ||
| Kenora's James Sinclair stopped all 24 Red Lake shots in the first, but the Miners poured on 33 more to defeat the Islanders 6-1 in a 1:30 start at Bowman Electric Keewatin Memorial Arena. Koen Webber stopped 17 of 18 for the win while Sinclair saved 51 of 57 in the loss. Nathan Dann had two goals, Noah Tenney and Euan Morrison had a goal and assist each, and Quinn Szpak dished off two helpers as the Miners reached .500 and closed to within two points of fifth place Fort Frances with a game in hand. After a scoreless first, the Miners and Islanders combined for five goals in a 5:42 span in the middle of the second. When the dust settled, Red Lake emerged with a 4-1 lead heading into the third. Dann scored on a Red Lake powerplay at 7:44, firing a one-timer over Sinclair. Morrison doubled the lead at 9:00, and Dann got one through Sinclair's pads at 10:11 for a 3-0 lead. Rowan Fenner's first of the season on a cross-ice feed from Hunter McLean, got Kenora on the board at 12:42, but 44 seconds later Bradyn Rowsell's fourth on a one-timer from the point past a screened Sinclair made it 4-1 through 40. Corbyn Demchuk's third, and Noah Tenney's shorthanded goal at 14:27 finished off the scoring. |
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| AT RED LAKE MINERS | | ||
| The Lumberjacks may have lost in overtime but scored an important moral victory, overcoming a pair of three-goal deficits. Bryson Carlyle scored with 24 seconds left in overtime on a Red Lake powerplay for a 5-4 Red Lake victory at Cochenour Arena. Goalie Trent Boryszczuk returned to his old stomping grounds, stopping 52 of 57 in the Ironwood net, helping his new team pick up a point. His replacement, Ethan Rau, made 31 stops for his second Red Lake win. The Miners have nine of a possible 10 points in their last five games while Ironwood is winless in 11. Red Lake head coach Lee Stone, point in hand, pulled his goalie during Carlyle's powerplay game winner to give the Miners a 5-on-3 at the tail end of overtime. The Lumberjacks had a couple of cracks at the open cage but Carlyle parked one under Boryszczuk's crossbar for the win. Nathan Dann, Gabe Tanton and Quinn Szpak gave Red Lake a 3-0 lead by 3:08 of the second period. Collin Baker got Ironwood on the board at 4:55 on an Ironwood powerplay. Bryant Linklater got his first of the season on an Ironwood turnover at 8:48 to re-establish the Miners' three-goal edge. Nolan Fowler got his 10th on a nice pass from Jack Hanna to shave the deficit to two after 40 minutes. Jack Carruthers narrowed the Red Lake lead to 4-3 at the 22-second mark of the third on an unassisted powerplay goal. Josh Gulden tied the game at 4-4, powering a shot through Rau at 11:15, to complete the regulation comeback. Red Lake outshot Wisconsin 9-2 in overtime. Carlyle's fifth of the year gave the Miners their ninth win of year against eight losses (and a tie), two points behind Fort Frances with a game in hand. Dann added two helpers, Szpak had an assist, and Bradyn Rowsell and Foxx McColl had two points each to buoy the Miners' attack. Gulden's goal gives him 15 points on the season, tied for third among SIJHL defencemen. Thomas Marshall also added two assists for Ironwood. |
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| Sullivan Menard and Landon van Engelen scored third period goals 50 seconds apart to provide the winning margin as Red Lake swept the Lumberjacks with a 4-3 Saturday night win. The Miners assumed the mantle as the SIJHL's hottest team, gaining their sixth consecutive game with at least one point. Nathan Dann's wrister over the glove of Ironwood starter Kole Kronstedt at 1:55 of the second period broke the ice after a scoreless first. Matteo Salvatore tied it at 5:12, notching his fourth. Five goals were scored in the third. Marshall Thomas scored on an Ironwood powerplay, getting his 10th off Koen Webber's blocker at 1:53. Less than a minute later Ryan Heuser tied the score at 2-2, with a backhander in close. Aidan Charron accepted Felix St. Onge's stretch pass and beat Webber on a breakaway midway through the third for a 3-2 Lumberjacks' lead. Gabe Tanton's shot from a tough angle resulted in Menard's tally to tie the game. Van Engelen's backhand rebound in the crease area proved to be the game winner. Webber made 23 saves for his sixth win of the year. Kronstedt stopped 29 of 33. Nolan Fowler had two assists for Ironwood, and Tanton had two helpers for Red Lake. |
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 | AT SIOUX LOOKOUT BOMBERS |  | ||
| Sioux Lookout took game one of the SIJHL's marquee weekend showdown with a 3-2 win over Dryden before 389 fans at the Hangar. Dryden scored first and last but the Bombers sandwiched three unanswered goals in the middle frame to account for the scoring. Max Roby scored unassisted at 13:12 of the first going top shelf on Matthew Ofukany for a 1-0 Dryden lead. Owen Riffel, Alex Lucas and Sage Roberts replied in the second. Riffel, who was stymied on a breakaway by Dryden's Kellan Mooney in the first period, fired in a point shot at 3:01 to tie the score. Lucas picked up his own rebound at 6:27. Roberts registered his first of the year with a wicked backhander after a face off win, going top cheese at 18:02 for a 3-1 Bomber lead. Dryden's trademark powerplay struck with 2:08 left in regulation. Elias Eisenbarth scored from the point, with Carson Devine and Roby collecting assists. Devine's 25 helpers ties him with teammate McLaren Paulsen for most in the league. Mooney was pulled for an extra man with a minute to go and Sioux Lookout drew a late penalty prior to that to add to the drama, but the Bombers held on for their ninth win (and a tie) in their last ten games to draw to within five points of the Ice Dogs with two games in hand. Ofukany stopped 23 of 25 for his eighth win while Mooney had 32 saves, dropping to 9-2-0 on the season. Dryden was 1-4 with the man advantage while Sioux Lookout was 0-3. Dryden was assessed 18 penalty minutes to Sioux Lookout's 10. |
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| Kellan Mooney became the first SIJHL goalie to reach 10 wins as Dryden reversed the tables with a 3-2 over Sioux Lookout at Lac Seul Events Centre on Saturday. Dryden overcame a one-goal deficit with a pair of goals 45 seconds apart midway through the third to regain their seven-point lead over the second place Bombers. Alex Lucas got the Bombers on the board at 7:43 of the second frame, scoring on a rebound from the slot for his 14th of the year. Max Roby deflected Carter Goreniuk's point shot at 2:06 of the third to knot the score. Beau Bannerman's first of the year from the point but the Bombers up 2-1 66 seconds later. Elias Eisenbarth's sixth of the campaign on a 2-on-1 tied the game at 9:55 setting the stage for McLaren Paulsen's game winner. Paulsen's 20th of the year through Matthew Spencer-Dahl 45 seconds later proved to be the game winner. Paulsen is the first player to reach 20 goals this year. Mooney made multiple clutch saves in a Bomber flurry with about three minutes to go. Spencer-Dahl left the Sioux Lookout cage with 1:10 left but the equalizer failed to materialize for the home team. Paulsen also garnered an assist and Eli Antoine had two helpers for Dryden. Sioux Lookout was 0-4 on the powerplay. Dryden failed in their lone attempt. |
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 | AT FORT FRANCES LAKERS |  | ||
| Pierce Gouin had two goals and Nolan Barker fired in the game winner as the Fort Frances Lakers crafted a 3-2 home win against Thunder Bay before 370 fans at Ice For Kids Arena. Thunder Bay took a 2-1 lead into the latter stages of the third, before Gouin on a powerplay at 14:40 and Barker 40 ticks later, capped the home comeback. The Lakers climbed to 21 points on the year, two back of the Stars, who lost their fourth in a row. Gouin had the lone first period tally, going high glove side on Keenan Marks for a 1-0 Lakers' lead. Tyler Jordan tied it in the second, collecting Cohen Tangedal's rebound and putting it past Gunner Paradis for his 12th. Thunder Bay overcame two extended man power disadvantages to start the third. Easton Glousher was sent off for two five-minute majors at the end of the second. Gavin Simon of Fort Frances drew a major for fighting nullifying one of Glousher's two majors. The Stars killed off Glousher's remaining major, and then killed off a full two-minute 5-on-3 starting at 5:48 of the third. The league's best penalty kill was put to the test yet again at 13:46. This time, Gouin deflected Evan Kabel's shot to tie the game, and moments later Barker sent one high glove over a partially screened Marks for the 3-2 lead. Marks was pulled for 1:48 but to no avail. Equipment issues caused the Stars to use Ben Laurette to play the first 3:51 of the third period. The Lakers fired seven shots at Laurette in that short span. Marks stopped 33 of 36 to take the loss, while Paradis saved 28 of 30 to improve his record to 4-2-0 with a 2.56 goals against and .921 save percentage. |
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| AT KENORA DEVIL'S GAP ISLANDERS | | ||
| Kam River scored three on the powerplay, added a shorty, and Sam Keene shunted aside 18 of 20 for his second win as the Fighting Walleye continued their ascent with a 7-2 win over Kenora at Woodland Arena in Vermilion Bay, ON. Carter Poddubny led all scorers with three points for Kam River. Callum Halls, Sam Sargent and Zach Bauman had a goal and assist each and Kaden Goodwin dished out two helpers as the Fighting Walleye won their third in a row. Hayden Seib had both goals for Kenora, who played another disciplined game. Ethan Beattie tended the pipes making 30 saves on 37 shots. Kam River led 2-0 after one, 4-1 after two, and had a comfortable 6-1 lead by 6:50 of the third. Sargent opened the scoring with Tie Schumacher assisting on his shorthanded effort at 5:56. Zach Baumann doubled the lead at 18:22. Halls upped the margin with a rebound snipe on an Edwin Liang shot just 32 seconds into the middle frame. Poddubny got his 8th with Halls collecting his seventh helper at 11:23. Seib went blocker side on Keene at 12:53 to get Kenora on the board. Brodie McLeod scored his first of the season at 3:08 of the third, going high glove from the point on a Kam River powerplay. Evan Lachimea struck at 6:50 on a one-timer. Seib's second of the game from a sharp angle at 14:21--his third of the year--made it 6-2. Daxton Lang's 13th on Jett Mintenko's 24th assist and Goodwin's 11th helper on yet another Kam River powerplay goal rounded out the scoring. |
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| AT FORT FRANCES LAKERS | | ||
| The Lakers continued their transformational season with a 2-1 win over Kam River with 511 fans in attendance at Ice For Kids Arena. Gunner Paradis stopped 36 of 37 to up his record to 5-2-0. The Thunder Bay native leads the SIJHL with a .929 save percentage. Pierce Gouin scored the game winner with less than two minutes remaining. Daxton Lang scored the lone first period goal, tipping in Kaden Goodwin's shot at the 16-minute mark. The Lakers struck for powerplay goals in the second and third. Jack Wood tied the game at 1:10 of the second frame, going top corner on Ashton Sadauskas for his ninth. Gouin got the winning goal at 18:11 of the third, backhanding in a rebound for his ninth. Evan Kabel and Brady Krentz assisted on both Laker goals. The Lakers went 2-4 on the powerplay. Their 31.6% powerplay is a big part of their success this year. Kam River was 0-3 with the man advantage. Sadauskas made 28 stops, falling short in his bid for win number 10. Both the Lakers and the Walleye are in a five-team dog-pile separating second place Sioux Lookout (28 points) and sixth place Red Lake (21 points). |
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| AT KENORA DEVIL'S GAP ISLANDERS | | ||
| Thunder Bay ended their four-game slide with an emphatic 13-4 win over Kenora at Woodland Arena. The Islanders shut down Marcellus Francis completely, but 16 of 18 North Star skaters counted at least one point. Beau Helmeczi had five points with one goal, Alex Remenda had two goals and four points, Marshall Kendrick and Tyler Jordan had two goals and an assist each, Cohen Tangedal had one goal and three helpers, Acoyen Fehr had a goal and two assists, assist machine Tag Bryson compiled three apples (23 on the year) and Jamieson Franz had a goal and assist. Fehr, a Morden, MB native, got his first points two games into to his North Stars' tenure. Solo North Star tallies went to Carter Anton, Eric Sheriff and Keagan Jones. Elias Constant, Hunter Dingman, Dominic Collins and Hayden Seib replied for the Islanders. Dingman also added an assist and Gursimar Mann added two helpers for Kenora. Ron Cailo started the game for the Islanders and had three saves in six shots in his 6:44 of play. Ethan Beattie stopped 52 of 62 the rest of the way. Ben Laurette garnered the North Stars' win, making 22 saves for win number eight. Thunder Bay held period leads of 4-0 and 7-2. Tangedal, Jordan and Helmeczi had powerplay tallies for the Stars. The Stars were 3-5 on the powerplay. |
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