With a win at the Elgar Petersen Arena last night, the La Ronge Ice Wolves tied the first round series against the Humboldt Broncos at one game a piece. Pictured: Brandon Della Paolera earned one goal and two assist during the games at the EPA. (Becky Zimmer/larongeNOW Staff)

By Becky Zimmer

A game a piece

Ice Wolves tie series as they head home for game three

Mar 20, 2022 | 9:23 AM

While the crowd was raising the roof at the Elgar Petersen Arena on Saturday night, it took a while before either the Humboldt Broncos or the La Ronge Ice Wolves got some points on the board in game two of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoffs.

Tensions were high, especially after a win on home ice kicked off the series the night before in a 6-4 win for the Broncos, but head coach Kevin Kaminski told larongeNOW that very little had to change for his players going into game two.

“The boys put that behind them and you know what, they took care of business tonight and you know what, we wanted to get the 2-0 (in the series) but we got the split and now we’re going back home.”

Earning the win in a 2-0 game two, Kaminski said he is proud of the performance his players left on the EPA ice.

“They showed a lot of character, resilience after a tough loss last night, and like I said, that room is full of character, and like I said, I think we really pressured the puck well, created a lot of turnovers, and we capitalized on a few chances.”

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Ten minutes into the first and shots on goalies Rayce Ramsay and Xavier Cannon were minimal while both teams chipped away at each other in some physically challenging junior hockey. By the end of the period, Broncos had the advantage with 14 shots to the Ice Wolves five but neither team had found the back of the net with the first ending tied at zero.

Same would be said for the second as both teams added only a handful of goals by the midway point of the period.

However, some penalty trouble for the Broncos would open it up for the Ice Wolves with a shot from Nate Looft rebounding off Nicksha Eric’s skate and past Ramsay. A little over a minute later a pass from Brandon Della Paolera to Ethan Strik on the power play would make it 2-0 for the Ice Wolves with a beautiful shot from the point finding its way over Ramsay’s glove.

By the time the buzzer sounded the teams would be fairly evenly matched in chances on goal with Cannon stopping all 28 shots the Broncos fired his way in an outstanding performance, said Kaminski. Ramsay stopped 24 out of 26 shots from the Ice Wolves.

Even with the first two games being at the EPA, the Ice Wolves fans were out in force from B.C. and Alberta as well as across Saskatchewan.

This included Strik’s dad coming out from B.C. to watch game two and see him score that second goal, Strik told larongeNOW.

Kaminski said it was great having that level of support which makes La Ronge a special place to play.

“The fans there love the Ice Wolves and it just shows their support here tonight that they all drove up and cheered us on to a victory so it’s great to see. And we know Tuesday the Mel is going to be rocking and rolling hare, big time.”

With the series now tied at a game apiece, round one continues in La Ronge on Tuesday and Wednesday with game five coming back to Humboldt on March 25. Games six and seventh are also scheduled for March 27 in La Ronge and March 29 in Humboldt if needed.

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becky.zimmer@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @bex_zim