4) Minnesota Iron Rangers vs. 5) English River Miners
1) Fort Frances Lakers vs. winner of MIN-ERM 2) Dryden Ice Dogs vs. 3) Thunder Bay North Stars
FINAL STANDINGS (W-L-OTL)
Fort Frances – 94 points (46-8-2) Dryden – 74 points (33-15-8) Thunder Bay – 60 points (28-24-4) Minnesota – 46 points (21-31-4) English River – 31 points (12-37-7)
LEADING SCORERS
Dylan Robertson (Fort Frances) – 31G 57A 88P Nick Minerva (Fort Frances) – 21G 52A 73P Nicholas Nigro (Thunder Bay) – 32G 28A 60P Andrew Willner (Fort Frances) – 22G 36A 58P Derek McPhail (Dryden) – 23G 33A 56P
LEADING GOALTENDERS
Brandon Bodnar (Fort Frances) – 18-4-0, 1.94 GAA, .935 SV%, 2 SO Pierce Dushenko (Fort Frances) – 28-6-0, 2.68 GAA, .920 SV%, 4 SO Taylor Unruh (Dryden) – 17-12-0, 2.70 GAA, .889 SV%, 2 SO Riley Corbin (Thunder Bay) – 23-16-0, 3.13 GAA, .918 SV%, 4 SO Anthony Pupplo (Minnesota) – 9-14-0, 3.47 GAA, .902 SV%, 1 SO
LAST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCE
2013 (Minnesota Wilderness – fourth place)
TOTAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES
2 (2013, 2006)
LAST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
none (best finish: fourth place – Minnesota Wilderness, 2013; Fort William North Stars, 2006)
TOTAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
none
TOP REGULAR SEASON TEAM – FORT FRANCES LAKERS
The third-consecutive SIJHL regular-season title was the best yet for the Fort Frances Lakers, who ran away from the other four teams and finished with a 20-point advantage over second-place Dryden by winning 46 of 56 games. The Lakers posted four winning streaks of at least eight games, including a season-best 12-game run from Jan 15-Feb. 23, and were 26-2 on home ice, including wins in their final 14 games as host. Fort Frances was far and away the top offensive and defensive team in the SIJHL, scoring 33 more goals than any other team and allowing 22 less. Up front, Dylan Robertson ran away with the scoring title, finishing 15 points up on teammate Nick Minerva, who was another 13 points ahead of the third place. Fort Frances put five players in the top 10 of SIJHL scoring, and 16 players recorded at least 20 points. Pierce Dushenko got the lion’s share of work in the Lakers goal, finishing third in minutes played (2,061) and saves (1,052), and leading the league in wins (28), while fellow netminder Brandon Bodnar topped all SIJHL goaltenders in goals-against average (1.94) and save percentage (.935).
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