The La Ronge Ice Wolves dropped their fourth straight game on Saturday afternoon at the Mel Hegland Uniplex 7-3 to the Yorkton Terriers.
The Terriers wasted no time getting on the board when Branden Klatt notched his ninth of the season just 48 seconds into the contest. Quinten Hobbs and Chantz Petruic would also tally in the first, as Yorkton took a 3-1 lead heading the second period. Antonio Di Paolo had the only La Ronge goal in the first.
For the second straight game, the Ice Wolves trailed 3-1, but they were able to claw their way back. Mitch Zambon and Jake Gudjonson both found the back of the net late in the second, which tied the game at three. Branden Klatt would score his second of the night with just 33 seconds left in the second, which stood up as the game-winner.
“I think tonight we kind of let them dictate the game, starting from the first drop of the puck there in our first period, we get down,” said Ice Wolves Assistant Coach Gaelan Patterson. “We fought back a little bit, but then kind of let them continue to dictate the game.”
Jared Legien sniped twice in the third and Colby Brandt added another, as the Terriers embarrassed the Ice Wolves on home ice Saturday. Ryan Ouellette made 34 saves for the victory, while Jordan Frey stopped 30 shots in a losing cause. The Ice Wolves failed to score on ten opportunities on the man advantage, while the Terriers scored once on four chances on the power play.
Saturday’s game was supposed to start at 2 p.m., but the officials arrived about 90 minutes late, so the contest started around 3:30 p.m.
With the loss, the Ice Wolves slipped to 6-15 on the season, which had them sitting in 11th in the overall standings prior to Saturday’s other games in the SJHL.
The Ice Wolves will look to rebound on Friday when they head to Flin Flon to battle the Bombers for the third time this season. You can catch Friday’s game on MBC with Braden Malsbury, the pre-game show gets underway at 7:15 p.m.
Next Saturday night, the Ice Wolves host the Flin Flon Bombers in the conclusion of the home-and-home series.
(PHOTO: Antonio Di Paolo scored his fourth of the season Saturday. Photo by David Smith.)